The IAPA urges guarantees for freedom of expression and the press in Venezuela's transition

Accordingly, the IAPA urges the transitional authorities, with the support of intergovernmental press freedom bodies and the international community, to promptly adopt the following measures:

• Lifting the information blockade currently imposed by the regulator CONATEL in coordination with telecom operators, which restricts access to over 60 national and international news portals, including El Nacional, CNN en Español, Infobae, and NTN24, in a context where independent journalism operates primarily in digital environments.
• Providing legal and personal guarantees for persecuted journalists, including the immediate end of arbitrary judicial proceedings, arrest warrants, and other forms of criminalization of journalistic work. Hundreds of journalists and media workers have been forced into exile due to these practices.
• Restoring journalists’ rights to identity and mobility, against administrative restrictions that prevent them from obtaining official documents or returning to the country. Denial of procedures by state agencies, based on unfounded claims, constitutes a form of indirect persecution.
• Returning confiscated property and media assets, including headquarters, equipment, and frequencies, in cases representing forms of patrimonial censorship. These practices have severely weakened the information ecosystem and must be reversed as part of any institutional normalization process. For example, El Nacional was stripped of its facilities through a rigged judicial process, which also resulted in the confiscation of a property belonging to the family of its owner, Miguel Henrique Otero, in clear violation of property rights.
• Ensuring comprehensive protection for journalistic work against threats from both state actors and irregular groups. Journalism continues in a high-risk environment that discourages the return of professionals and restricts citizens’ right to be informed.
• Guaranteeing that journalists recently released after arbitrary detentions can fully carry out their work without restrictions, information blockades, or any form of retaliation. Their release must include the full restoration of their professional and civil rights.

The IAPA concludes that judicial persecution, forced exile, digital censorship, and media confiscation create an environment incompatible with any serious democratic recovery process.

Finally, the organization reaffirms its commitment to support initiatives that ensure Venezuela’s democratic reconstruction is authentic, inclusive, and founded on the strict respect for fundamental rights.

The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.