Nicolás Maduro will be sworn in as President of Venezuela today despite the protests in the country. The regime has thus definitively refused to recognise the election result of 28 July in favour of opposition politician Edmundo González and disregarded the will of the majority of the Venezuelan population. In addition Misereor Managing Director Bernd Bornhorst:

"With the swearing-in of Nicolás Maduro, the suffering of the people in Venezuela will continue in dramatic fashion. Together with our Venezuelan partner organisations, we fear a further exodus of the population to neighbouring countries and a worsening of the already difficult humanitarian situation for the people within the formerly prosperous country. More than half of the population is already living in extreme poverty as a result of the Maduro regime's policies and the country's resulting isolation.

The already poor human rights situation has once again deteriorated significantly in recent weeks and days, as shown by the kidnapping of human rights defender and head of Misereor's partner organisation "Espacio Público" Carlos Correa by state actors.

We expect the German government to campaign for the unconditional release of Carlos Correa and many other political prisoners and human rights activists. In addition, funds must be made available for the refugees in the neighbouring countries and for the people in the country in order to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe from worsening.