Thread by @astroehlein

Some points on #Venezuela in a short thread...

Venezuela is facing an unprecedented human rights and humanitarian crisis that has generated a massive exodus of Venezuelans.

The number of Venezuelans who have fled their country in recent years is over 3 million, which has generated a refugee crisis in Latin America.

Venezuela is seeing outbreaks of preventable diseases that had been eradicated, such as measles and diphtheria, dramatic surges of illnesses such as malaria and tuberculosis, and increasing levels of malnutrition.

The repression is ongoing. The Venezuelan government continues to crack down on opponents and critics, detaining and subjecting them to egregious abuses that amount to torture. This is part of a systematic practice by Venezuelan security forces.

Since 2014 in #Venezuela:

- Thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained.

- @hrw has documented more than 380 cases of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against government opponents, including at least 31 cases of torture in Venezuela.

These cases do not reflect the full scope of the problem, due to under-reporting by victims who fear retaliation.

The Maduro regime has never been so isolated internationally as it is today. It is critical to maintain strong, multilateral pressure on the Maduro regime, specifically through the adoption of targeted sanctions against high level officials responsible for the abuses...

...and by sending a clear message that those who commit abuses in #Venezuela will eventually be held accountable.

For more on #Venezuela's human rights and humanitarian crisis, see @HRW's reporting on it here: hrw.org/americas/venez…