A/HRC/60/62 149. The High Commissioner for Human Rights50 and special procedure mandate holders51 raised serious concerns about developments following the July presidential elections. In this context, authorities launched a security operation referred to as “Tun Tun,”52 characterized by widespread detentions, enforced disappearances, home raids, online intimidation and harassment, and random stop-and-search operations by State security forces. These included the inspection of individuals’ mobile phones for content perceived by the authorities to be indicative of dissent. The authorities reported the detention of over 2,500 individuals53 under terrorism-related charges. 150. OHCHR further documented that, in the context of post-election releases, officially reported at 2,006 individuals,54 civil society organizations were able to verify 1,485 releases at the time of writing,55 most of them under conditional measures. Released persons were reportedly instructed or coerced into signing documents prohibiting them from speaking about their detention, or conditions thereof. There are concerns that such measures inhibited the ability of released detainees to report potential human rights violations related to detention to OHCHR and international human rights mechanisms, fearing renewed detention, given the conditional nature of these releases. OHCHR also observed that State officials employed a hostile rhetoric directed at the United Nations and international human rights mechanisms during the reporting period,56 which has contributed to an overall climate of fear that inhibited willingness to cooperate due to fear of reprisals. 151. In its 2024 report, the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela noted that its investigations continue to be limited by individuals’ fear of reprisals. Many of the family members and witnesses of most of those detained during the post-election crisis preferred not to provide their testimonies to the mission for fear of reprisals, in particular in the case of children and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.57 The Fact-Finding Mission noted further that the identities of sources, witnesses and victims had been anonymized where disclosure would pose a risk of reprisals to those concerned.58 152. On 6 and 7 August 2024, during the consideration of the combined 22nd and 23rd periodic review of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed serious concern regarding allegations it had received of reprisals and intimidation for cooperation with the Committee. The Committee inquired specifically about the case of Mr. Yendri Velásquez, a human rights defender and coordinator of a civil society organization defending the rights of LGBTIQ+persons, who was prevented from attending the review. In this connection, the Committee underscored the United Nations’ zero-tolerance policy on reprisals, and regretted that the State party’s delegation had not provided further information on his case during the review (CERD/C/SR.3081, paras 7, 26 and 70 and CERD/C/SR.3082, paras 20 and 63). In response to a separate incident involving the apparent unauthorized taking of photographs and/or video recording in the room, the Chair reminded participants of the established policy prohibiting 50 https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/07/comment-un-human-rights-chief-volkerturk-venezuela, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/venezuela-ongoing-arbitrarydetentions-disproportionate-use-force-fuelling, https://www.ohchr.org/es/statements-andspeeches/2025/03/oral-update-human-rights-situation-venezuela. 51 VEN 7/2024, AL 10/2024; VEN 11/2024, https://www.ohchr.org/en/pressreleases/2024/09/venezuela-must-stop-human-rights-violations-following-elections-say-experts, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/venezuela-must-respect-right-peaceful-protest-anddemocratic-dissent-new, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/experts-urge-venezuelacomply-international-law-prevent-irreparable-harm- https://www.ohchr.org/en/pressreleases/2025/02/experts-urge-venezuela-comply-international-law-prevent-irreparable-harm. 52 Onomatopoeic reference to the sound of knocking on doors. VEN 7/2024. 53 https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-tnRP1ojRE/. 54 https://www.instagram.com/p/DGvRr3YpYOb/?hl=es. 55 https://www.ohchr.org/es/statements-and-speeches/2025/03/oral-update-human-rights-situationvenezuela. 56 https://x.com/minpublicoven/status/1818309832698450104?s=46&t=ZmhS3PwG4kWMVMneEB5Tg. 57 A/HRC/57/57. 58 A/HRC/57/CRP.5 paras 8, 15 and 578. 39