3.4. Journalists

The UNFFMV indicated that 18 journalists were detained between August 2024 and August 2025 due to their perceived status as opponents.701 Alleged reasons for targeting include publishing information critical of the government702 or material deemed to be of 'public interest'.703 Journalists and social‑media content creators are typically charged with 'instigation to hate'.704 Sources also reported the killing of a journalist on 22 June 2025 while livestreaming from his home in Maracay.705 As of September 2025, 11 journalists remained in detention.706

Between January and April 2026, the Press and Society Institute (IPYS, Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad) recorded 36 violations of the right to freedom of expression, including the detention of journalists during coverage, the review and forced deletion of news material, physical and verbal attacks, the closure of broadcasting stations, and public warnings against media outlets.707 Between 3 January and 27 March 2026, CONATEL shut down four independent radio stations, more than half the total number closed throughout 2025.708 On 3 May 2026, IPYS stated that, although there have been recent advances such as the Amnesty Law, 'freedom remains partial and reversible, without full guarantees'.709 IPYS also reported that, in 2025 and 2026, journalists continued to avoid signing their work, resulting in a practice shaped by caution, calculation, and persistent uncertainty.710 Coverage has become more distant, and on‑the‑ground reporting increasingly rare, with many topics going unreported and lines of questioning heavily modified.711

According to the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP, Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Prensa), by 19 April 2026, 28 journalists and press workers had been released under the Amnesty Law.712 The same source indicated, however, that the judicial files of eight workers and journalists had not been closed as mandated by the Amnesty Law.713 Four requests for dismissal of charges were denied by the courts, and appeals have been filed in all of them, but appellate courts have yet to issue a decision.714 In addition, three requests have received no response despite legal deadlines having expired, prolonging the legal uncertainty faced by those affected.715

The appointment in March 2026 of a new CONATEL director with sector experience has been considered a positive development, and independent media outlets have been granted access to both the parliament and the presidential palace for the first time in many years.716 Sources indicated, however, that censorship persists despite limited signs of greater tolerance.717