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Leopoldo Lopez addresses the 62nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council on June 29, 2026, during the Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner’s report on the Situation of Human Rights in Venezuela.
Speech Transcript (English Translation):
Mr. President,
Right now, there are families searching for their loved ones under the rubble.
Forty-eight hours ago, two earthquakes struck Venezuela. It has been devastating. At this time, the number of victims remains unclear—estimates put the figure in the tens of thousands.
What we are witnessing in real time is a simultaneous double collapse: the collapse of the physical infrastructure and the collapse of a state incapable of addressing the magnitude of the tragedy.
That collapsed state is exactly what the report under consideration today portrays. Because, as the report presented today details, the extensive repressive apparatus remains intact. Since January 3—already under the current government—there have been at least 87 new political arrests. Three people have died in custody. Nearly 500 political prisoners remain behind bars.
The earthquake did not strike a country under normal conditions. It struck amid a complex and ongoing humanitarian crisis.
That is why we ask this Council for two specific things: complete openness to international humanitarian aid, and the opening of all channels so that civil society—which, as always, has been the first to respond—has the tools to build solidarity.
Venezuela will have to rebuild itself. And not just its infrastructure. It must also rebuild its institutions, trust, and the rule of law. To do so, it needs this Council to be present—today and in the months to come.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Speech Transcript (Original Spanish):
Señor Presidenta,
En este momento, hay familias buscando a sus seres queridos bajo los escombros.
Hace cuarenta y ocho horas, dos terremotos sacudieron Venezuela. Devastador. A esta hora no hay claridad sobre el número de víctimas — las estimaciones hablan de decenas de miles.
Lo que estamos viendo en tiempo real es un doble colapso simultáneo: el colapso de la infraestructura física, y el colapso de un Estado incapaz de atender la magnitud de la tragedia.
Ese Estado colapsado es exactamente el que retrata el informe considerado hoy. Porque, como relata el informe presentado hoy, la extensa maquinaria represiva permanece intacta. Desde el 3 de enero — ya bajo el gobierno actual — al menos 87 nuevas detenciones políticas. 3 personas fallecidas bajo custodia. Cerca de 500 presos políticos siguen tras las rejas.
El terremoto no cae sobre un país en condiciones normales. Cae sobre una crisis humanitaria compleja y continuada.
Por eso pedimos a este Consejo dos cosas concretas: apertura total al apoyo humanitario internacional, y apertura de todos los canales para que la sociedad civil — que ha dado la primera respuesta, como siempre — tenga las herramientas para construir solidaridad.
Venezuela tendrá que reconstruirse. Y no solo la infraestructura. También las instituciones, la confianza, el estado de derecho. Para eso necesita que este Consejo esté presente — hoy, y en los meses que vienen.
Gracias, señor Presidenta.
