More Than 100 Media Outlets and Organizations Call for Free Expression in Venezuela

A coalition of 101 media outlets, organizations and associations has issued a manifesto demanding guarantees for freedom of expression in Venezuela after what it describes as more than 27 years of censorship, persecution and restrictions on civic space.

The “Manifesto for Freedom of Expression in Venezuela” brings together 38 media organizations and 63 civil society groups. It calls for the repeal of the legal framework that the signatories say is used to criminalize dissent. The groups also want Venezuela’s telecommunications regulator, Conatel, transformed.

Their demands include the full release of people detained for expressing their opinions and the lifting of digital blocks on various news websites. “We will work until freedom of expression is fully achieved in Venezuela, because restoring freedom of expression is a fundamental step toward rebuilding our democracy,” the manifesto says.

Freedom of expression is expected to be discussed in the next round of political dialogue between the government and opposition, planned for the second half of September, according to the press team of opposition delegation leader Dinorah Figuera.

Venezuela ranked last among 23 countries assessed in the 2025 Chapultepec Index of Freedom of Expression and Press, published by the Inter American Press Association. The report classified Venezuela, along with Nicaragua, among countries without freedom of expression. It gave Venezuela 7.02 points out of 100, citing more than 2,000 arrests during the post-election period in 2024. The NGO Espacio Público reported 75 violations of freedom of expression in the first quarter of 2026.

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We will work until freedom of expression is fully achieved in Venezuela, because restoring freedom of expression is a fundamental step toward rebuilding our democracy.