Venezuela Protesters Demand Inquiry Into Judges in Political Prisoner Cases
VENEZUELA · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Acting president Delcy Rodríguez has governed Venezuela since US forces seized President Nicolás Maduro on 3 January 2026.
- —Why it matters The opposition accuses the supreme court’s 32 judges of serving the government, including by validating Maduro’s disputed 2024 win.
- —The deal Government and opposition negotiators agreed in August to replace all 32 judges and named a vetting council on 25 September.
- —What happened On Monday 28 September, marchers in Caracas asked for judges in political prisoner cases to be investigated.
- —What it means for you Until new judges take their seats, the same court still rules on contracts, property and detentions.
- —Still open No date is set for naming the new judges, and accounts differ on whether the petition was received.
Venezuela protesters marched on the offices that run the country’s judiciary in Caracas on Monday 28 September. They asked for an inquiry into judges who handled cases of people jailed for political reasons, EFE, the Spanish news agency, reported.
The march came as negotiators prepare to replace every judge on the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), Venezuela’s highest court. Lawyers at the protest said the method chosen for that overhaul breaks the constitution.
What the marchers asked for
The march set off from Plaza Venezuela and ended at the Executive Directorate of the Magistracy (DEM), the TSJ’s administrative arm. On the way it passed PDVSA, the state oil company, and the prisons ministry, Contrapunto, an independent Caracas news site, reported.
Marchers carried a petition from the Alliance for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, a campaign group. It sought inquiries into judges who may have committed “abuse of authority” or caused “unjustified procedural delay” in political cases.
Carlos Salazar of the National Union Coalition, a labour alliance, told the crowd “this is where they appoint the judges”, Contrapunto reported. He blamed judges for a death at La Crisálida jail: “They did not allow her to be moved to a health centre.”
That prisoner was Eleiner Sánchez, who died on 27 September (see Venezuelan Political Prisoner Dies in State Custody). Salazar also demanded a presidential election this December and freedom for all political prisoners.
Why the marchers blame the judges
Eduardo Torres, a lawyer and former political prisoner, said judges bear direct responsibility for long delays before trial. “What about those who have three, four, five, up to nine years without trial?” he asked outside the DEM, according to Contrapunto.
According to Torres, judges decide whether a detainee may be taken to hospital, and delays in court make illnesses behind bars worse. He also wants the judges of Venezuela’s special terrorism courts investigated.
Lawyers at the march demanded that the current judges resign and the terrorism courts close, reported Efecto Cocuyo, an independent site. Jessica Castro of the prisoners’ alliance said they chose the DEM because “that is where they are choosing the justices and judges”.
A court accused of serving the government
The opposition accuses the TSJ’s 32 judges of serving the governing movement founded by Hugo Chávez. In 2024 the court validated Nicolás Maduro’s proclaimed election victory, although official tally sheets were never published, Infobae reported.
The opposition says its own copies of the tally sheets show that its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won that vote. US forces seized Maduro in January 2026, and his former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, now governs as acting president.
In August, the government and opposition lawmakers elected in 2015 agreed in US-backed talks to replace all 32 judges. Venezuela protesters want the judges who ruled on political detentions held to account as part of that change.
How the new court is meant to be chosen
On 1 September the National Assembly, where the government holds a majority, unanimously changed the law that governs the court. The committee that screens candidates grew from 21 to 23 members, with 11 lawmakers and 12 from civil society.
On Friday 25 September both sides named seven jurists to a new council that will check candidates’ credentials. The state broadcaster Radio Nacional de Venezuela said they include former TSJ judges, a former labour minister and a human rights lawyer.
El Nacional, a Caracas daily critical of the government, said the opposition proposed four members and the government three. The paper added that the government’s three nominees have held posts in the judicial system under Maduro.
Progress for some, a shortcut for others
Juan Miguel Matheus, an opposition negotiator from the Primero Justicia party, called the deal a step towards “dismantling the judicial dictatorship”. “A public timetable creates certainty about timing,” he wrote, according to Infobae, welcoming the promise to publish the schedule.
At Monday’s march, lawyer Eduardo Torres called the process “a façade” of change that “violates the constitution”, EFE reported. Noé Mujica, a fellow lawyer, said that task belongs to the Judicial Nominations Committee, not a parallel council.
Benigno Alarcón, a political scientist at Caracas’s Andrés Bello Catholic University, called the council an achievement, El Nacional reported on 27 September. But he noted that it “does not exist in the Constitution”, so its decisions do not bind the National Assembly.
What the government says
No public response to the petition from the TSJ or the government had been reported by Tuesday 29 September. State radio quoted Jorge Rodríguez, the Assembly’s president and chief government negotiator, as saying the steps for naming the court are defined.
Salazar’s demand for a December vote meets a government that has named no election date. At the UN on 23 September, Delcy Rodríguez said Venezuelans would decide “the right moment”, the state-backed channel teleSUR reported.
What is not yet known
The two main accounts of the march differ at its final stop. EFE reported that the petition was handed over, while Contrapunto reported that staff closed the doors and would not accept the documents.
It is not known whether any judge will face an inquiry because of the petition. No overall count of Venezuela protesters was published, and EFE described the Caracas crowd as numbering in the dozens.
What comes next
The Assembly is due to name a preliminary nominations committee at its next ordinary session, the joint statement of 25 September said. Candidates will then pass through the seven-member council before lawmakers choose the new judges.
Monday’s protests do not mean the talks have broken down, and both sides still describe the court overhaul as agreed. Nor would a new court by itself free prisoners or set an election date, the loudest demands in Caracas.
For people who live, work or invest in Venezuela, the real test is whether the new judges rule independently. That will only become visible after they take their seats, in the rulings they hand down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice?
It is Venezuela’s highest court, with 32 judges, and it also rules on constitutional and electoral disputes. The opposition accuses its current judges of serving the government, notably by validating Nicolás Maduro’s disputed 2024 election win.
Who is running Venezuela now?
Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president, has governed as acting president since US forces seized Maduro on 3 January 2026. Her government is holding US-backed talks with opposition lawmakers elected in 2015.
What did the Venezuela protesters ask the judiciary to do?
They asked for inquiries into judges who may have abused their authority or caused unjustified delays in political cases. Lawyers at the march also want the current judges to resign and the special terrorism courts abolished.
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