UN rights experts report a rise of efforts in Venezuela to squelch democracy ahead of 2024 election

GENEVA (AP) — A U.N.-backed panel investigating human rights violations in Venezuela says the South American country’s government has intensified efforts to curtail democratic freedoms with use of threats, surveillance and harassment as President Nicolás Maduro faces a re-election contest next year. The latest report from the international fact-finding mission authorized by the U.N. Human Rights Council was published Wednesday. It notes the government shifted tactics with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased its use of targeted repression against politicians, labor leaders, journalists, human rights defenders and other real or perceived opponents. The government’s targets have been subjected to detention, surveillance, threats, defamatory campaigns and arbitrary criminal proceedings.