The Final Descent

Protesters take cover behind a makeshift shield during an anti-government demonstration following the controversial presidential re-election of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 29, 2024. During these protests, at least 24 protesters died at the hands of security forces or government-supported paramilitary groups known as “colectivos,” and over 2,200 people were arrested and charged with terrorism and homeland betrayal with no proof other than their presence at the demonstrations; some were even just near one and not involved at all. The detainees were sent to high-security jails reported for human rights violations and torture; most of them were young people, including underage teenagers. Nationwide protests erupted in response to widespread allegations of electoral fraud, compounded by an ongoing economic collapse and humanitarian crisis created by hyperinflation, severe food and medicine shortages, skyrocketing unemployment, and a lack of speech and press freedom, forcing over seven million people to flee Venezuela in recent years, making it one of the largest mass migrations in modern history.