Unveiling Venezuela’s Repression: Surveillance and Censorship Following July’s Presidential Election

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The post was written by Laura Vidal (PhD), independent researcher in learning and digital rights.

This is part one of a series. Part two on the legacy of Venezuela’s state surveillance is here.

As thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets across the country to demand transparency in July’s election results, the ensuing repression has been described as the harshest to date, with technology playing a central role in facilitating this crackdown.

The presidential elections in Venezuela marked the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s ongoing political crisis. Since July 28th, a severe backlash against demonstrations has been undertaken by the country’s security forces, leading to 20 people killed. The results announced by the government, in which they claimed a re-election of Nicolás Maduro, have been strongly contested by political leaders within Venezuela as well as by the Organization of American States (OAS),  and governments across the region. 

In the days following the election, the opposition—led by candidates Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado—challenged the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) decision to a

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