Human rights lawyer Gonzalo Himiob said in a radio interview today that the Maduro regime increased its persecution of political opponents this year when compared to 2018. Himiob is the director of he Foro Penal Venezolano (Venezuelan Penal Forum, FPV), a Venezuelan human rights NGO that provides legal services to victims of political persecution.
During the interview, Himiob said that the FPV tracked an increase in arbitrary detentions compared to last year, and pointed out that the February-March period was a particularly active one for the regime, during which the FPV recorded approximately 1,000 arbitrary detentions. Himiob said that the figure was unprecedented in recent Venezuelan history.
Himiob also said that there was also an increase this year in instances of cases of cruel and inhuman treatment of political prisoners.
Two days ago, the FPV announced that there were 390 political prisoners in regime jails.
Basic Nutritious Food Basket Price Jumps 30.3% in November
The price of the basic nutritious food basket jumped 30.3% between October and November, placing the benchmark at Bs. 5,543,084.29 or approximately $142.20.
The figure is a sum of a set of basic necessities and food items needed to provide a healthy diet for a family of five.
A worker earning the minimum monthly salary earns Bs. 300,000 in wages and food subsidies, which covers just 5.4% of the basic nutritious food basket.
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