IACHR grants precautionary measures in favor of Arley Danilo Espitia Lara in Venezuela

December 18, 2024

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Resolution 99/2024

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Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 99/2024 on December 16, 2024, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Arley Danilo Espitia Lara in Venezuela, in the belief that he faces a serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to his rights.

The party who requested these precautionary measures said that Arley Danilo Espitia Lara is a 24-year-old Colombian farmer who traveled to Venezuela from Cúcuta on September 13, 2024. At the border, on Ureña bridge, immigration authorities asked for his ID documents and proceeded to arrest him. He was reportedly taken away in a motor vehicle and his whereabouts have since remained unknown. The Venezuelan Interior minister allegedly said that several men including the proposed beneficiary had been arrested for being involved in an international scheme to bring down the Venezuelan government.

Espitia Lara's family requested information about his situation from the Venezuelan Embassy in Colombia and was allegedly told that he was guilty of all the crimes he was being accused of. Colombia's General Consulate in Caracas sent formal notes to Venezuela and conducted visits and searches in criminal court facilities in the Caracas Metropolitan Area and in the state of Miranda, at the Boleíta office of the General Department of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), and at the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), among others. Still, Espitia Lara's whereabouts remained unknown. His family received no information concerning his location, his conditions of detention, and whether he had been taken before court. The State of Venezuela failed to provide information about this case.

After assessing the legal and factual allegations made by the party who requested these precautionary measures, the IACHR took into consideration the fact that the beneficiary was arrested on September 13, 2024, by officers of the State of Venezuela and that his whereabouts have since remained unknown. The IACHR noted that an official of the State of Venezuela said that the beneficiary was a member of a paramilitary organization. However, no details were provided about potential criminal court proceedings or investigations against him, about the judicial authorities that might be handling his case, or about the site where he was being deprived of liberty in Venezuela. The IACHR noted that, although Colombian authorities had visited various court facilities, no official information had been provided about the site and conditions in which the beneficiary was being held. 

The Commission considered that the beneficiary faces serious, urgent risks, since his whereabouts are currently unknown. Consequently, in keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR asked the State of Venezuela to take the following action:

(a) Adopt any measures necessary to protect the beneficiary's rights to life and personal integrity: In particular, the State should report on whether the beneficiary is in State custody (and, if so, provide the details of his arrest) or on any measures taken to establish his fate or whereabouts. For the IACHR, it is essential that, in case the beneficiary has been charged with any crimes, the State disclose whether he has been taken before a court of competent jurisdiction so his arrest might be reviewed. Otherwise, the State should provide the reasons why the beneficiary has so far not been released. The IACHR further asks the State to say whether the beneficiary has undergone a medical examination, and to provide the relevant documentation, as well as to state whether Venezuelan authorities have communicated with the country of which the beneficiary is a citizen.

(b) Report on any actions adopted to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to the adoption of these precautionary measures, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future.

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State of Venezuela do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the applicable instruments.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 321/24

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