Martha Tineo: 'Justice in a transition cannot afford the dangerous luxury of selectivity'

Martha Tineo, co-director of Justice, Encounter, and Pardon (JEP), asserted that any democratic transition in Venezuela must place justice for human rights victims at its core. She emphasized that transitional justice models require universal accountability without political exceptions to foster sustainable social peace.

Speaking at a forum parallel to the 56th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Panama, Tineo criticized approaches that compromise justice for political expediency or propose covert amnesties. "The design of justice in a transition cannot afford the dangerous luxury of selectivity," she stated. "We cannot fall into the trap of building a system where some are held accountable and others are not, based on political calculations or supposed reasons of viability."

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The design of justice in a transition cannot afford the dangerous luxury of selectivity. We cannot fall into the trap of building a system where some are held accountable and others are not, based on political calculations or supposed reasons of viability.

Tineo rejected the idea that the rights of those who have suffered persecution or arbitrary detention could be negotiated through political agreements. "The demand for justice for victims is absolute and universal," she declared. "Every link in the structure that enabled the abuse, from those who planned and ordered the horror in high spheres to those who materially executed it on the ground, has the inexcusable duty to answer to the law. Establishing half-hearted justice is a direct affront to the suffering of families."

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The demand for justice for victims is absolute and universal: every link in the structure that enabled the abuse, from those who planned and ordered the horror in high spheres to those who materially executed it on the ground, has the inexcusable duty to answer to the law. Establishing half-hearted justice is a direct affront to the suffering of families.

Furthermore, Tineo urged the international community to reconsider the traditional framing of the Venezuelan crisis. She argued that labeling the situation as a "polarized population" obscures the reality of a society systematically victimized by state repression, a pattern documented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) as state terrorism.

She concluded that building genuine and lasting democratic foundations in Venezuela requires focusing on the human dimension of the country, acknowledging that civil society's reality extends beyond political discourse.

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The human rights crisis in Venezuela is not the result of opposing sides in a conflict between equals; on the contrary, it is the consequence of a society that has been massively victimized through a systematic and widespread policy of attack and repression by the State.