Venezuelan security forces suspected of killing hundreds of demonstrators and alleged criminals enjoy immunity from prosecution, indicating that the rule of law is “virtually absent” in the country, the United Nations said on Friday.

In a report, the U.N. human rights office called on the government to bring perpetrators to justice, citing what it said were shocking accounts of extrajudicial killings of young men during crime-fighting operations conducted without arrest warrants in poor neighborhoods.

Critics say President Nicolas Maduro has resorted to increasingly authoritarian tactics as the OPEC nation’s economy has spiraled deeper into recession and hyperinflation, fuelling discontent and prompting hundreds of thousands to emigrate in the past year.

Read more

The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!