Political Risk:
Critical
Score:
10/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
58/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela establishes the functions of the National Assembly (AN) – the country’s legislative branch – as comprising…
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Venezuela’s current political crisis has undermined the formal powers granted by the constitution to the AN to exercise its functions of political control, legislation,…
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While it was a judicial decision that suppressed the powers granted to the AN (in contravention of the constitution), the executive’s influence on this…
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Q2
38/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The National Assembly (AN) is composed of 15 permanent committees, including the Permanent Committee on Security and Defence. According to the AN’s internal regulations,…
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The Permanent Committee on Security and Defence is composed of eight deputies, specialists professionally trained in law and public administration [1]. Although none have…
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The political situation in Venezuela is atypical, given the breakdown of the institutional order which significantly hinders the functions of political control. The Defence…
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Given the current political crisis, defence committee recommendations have no influence on policy or budget changes. This lack of influence is reflected by infringements…
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The Committee continues long-term investigations into operations and allegations of violations of the law in the management of the FANB and the application of…
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The MPPD disregards the legislative functions of the AN, in line with the executive branch’s recognition of the Supreme Court judgement which found the…
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Q3
6/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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The executive has not debated its defence strategy in recent years and very little is known about specific security policies. Announcements made about these…
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The legislative and public debate on defence strategy and policies is conducted based on unofficial information, since the executive does not present documents to…
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Although the constitution and the AN’s Internal Regulations allow for consultations with other state entities and with the public for debates on bills, in…
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In terms of security policies, the government does not make publicly availble any documents that set out detailed policies, nor is it accountable for…
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Q4
0/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is no policy of openness in Venezuelan legislation that would enable citizens and social organisations to access information, neither in the security and…
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Civil society organisations can operate in the country. However, they face obstacles in accessing information, there are no legal safeguards to protect them, and…
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Civil society organisations are not invited to work with the defence sector. Recommendations and complaints from civil organisations are not considered by the government,…
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Q5
63/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Venezuela signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2003 and ratified it in 2005. Given that the country does not export weapons or…
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The latest evaluation of the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption highlighted some of the advances that have been made in terms…
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Q6
13/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Short-term issues relating to security crises, or events intercepted and repressed by security forces, are the subject of public debate among academics and military…
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The government does not respond to public criticism, neither participating in discussions nor addressing criticised issues in its press releases. Officials in the Maduro…
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Q7
13/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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Venezuela does not have a public anti-corruption policy programme, nor do any specific plans exist in the defence sector. However, a legal framework for…
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Although there is no public policy on anti-corruption, periodic plans and anti-corruption legislation are recorded; however, the application of this legislation is difficult to…
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Q8
0/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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CONGEFANB is specifically responsible for internal audit of the defence sector. However, among the functions ascribed to this entity, there is no express mandate…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. There is no unit mandated to perform ethical compliance or anti-corruption oversight for the defence sector. Indeed, in…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. There are no compliance or ethics units in place. Although there is no unit in charge of overseeing…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. According to the LatinoBarómetro perception survey, the institution perceived most corrupt by Venezuelan citizens…
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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Some corruption risk assessments take place, but these are independently carried out by civil society organisations and do not benefit from government cooperation, neither…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Risk assessments are not conducted by the government. Organisations that conduct risk analysis studies, on a general level…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Risk assessments are not conducted by the government. Reports produced by civil society organisations identify clear risks of…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
8/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The Organic Law of the People’s Public Planning (LOPPP) sets out the planning procedure for the running of the different People’s Power institutions. This…
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Although evidence suggests that the POA is prepared [1], neither it nor the budget act for different fiscal years are made public, so there…
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The LOPPP states that the POAs submitted by each ministry will be approved by the president without detriment to the constitutional oversight functions of…
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Q12
0/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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Information is unknown about the budgets for the fiscal years since 2016, which have been planned and executed without the approval of the legislature.…
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Despite the constitutional obligation to submit budget acts for the knowledge and approval of the AN [1], the executive has not presented its budget…
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Q13
0/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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Formally, there is a permanent security and defence committee in the National Assembly (AN), but it does not have the express authority to scrutinise…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. The Committee lacks formal powers to scrutinise the defence budget. The Security and Defence Committee has no influence…
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Q14
0/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The defence budget has not been released to the public since 2016. The executive has not submitted it to the National Assembly (AN) for…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. The defence budget is not published. Given that the national budget is not published, it is impossible to…
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Although the constitution establishes a right to information from the public administration [1], citizens’ requests for information are constantly denied. Social organisations have condemned…
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Q15
17/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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Given that budgets for the years since 2016 are unknown, and that no legal and public accountability process have taken place for any public…
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In recent years, the Ministry of the People’s Power for Defence (MPPD) has not been accountable to the National Assembly (AN); which has prevented…
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Some civil society organisations maintain an active role in monitoring and seeking to audit defence sector income; however, these organisations have been blocked and…
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Q16
0/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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According to the Organic Law of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (LOFANB), the Office of the Comptroller General of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces…
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The Organic Law of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and of the System of Fiscal Control (LOCGRSCF) states that the…
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The Supreme Court decision to confer exclusive oversight over entities attached to the MPPD to the CONGEFANB [1] also affects the possibility for civil…
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There is no evidence with which to assess whether the MPPD incorporates the findings of CONGEFANB audits, visits, and other actions into its plans.…
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Q17
0/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) has the constitutional power to inspect and oversee public sector bodies. As the governing…
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Although there is a constitutionally established entity responsible for external audits of the defence sector, in reality, this entity has been suspended from carrying…
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Although there is a constitutionally established entity responsible for external audits of the defence sector, in reality, this entity has been suspended from carrying…
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Although there is a constitutionally established entity responsible for external audits of the defence sector, in reality, this entity has been suspended from carrying…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
5/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Venezuelan law does not prohibit the participation of military officials in the financial management of the country’s hydrocarbons and minerals. Indeed, since 2016 the…
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The participation of the defence sector in the exploitation of hydrocarbons and minerals has progressively increased, to the point of its total control of…
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Individual involvement of military officers in businesses related to the exploitation of natural resources is extensive, with control of the main extractive companies granted…
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No information could be found on any of these interests, and this information simply appears to not be public. However, given that there is…
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The defence sector’s participation in the exploitation of oil and other minerals is only subject to scrutiny by the internal controls of the defence…
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Organised Crime
Q19
0/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Studies by different organisations have condemned the penetration of organised crime into the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) and the police forces. Organisations from…
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In speeches by the president and the Minister of Defence, although the issue of drug trafficking and smuggling is discussed, the involvement of the…
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Q20
0/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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Within the armed forces, there is no policing body in charge of investigating corruption cases or the involvement of military officers in organised crime…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. The internal control agencies that do have some policing functions with which to investigate cases of corruption, and…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. There is no policing function exercised over the defence services to investigate corruption or organised crime. The internal…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The intelligence services have no parliamentary controls nor any specific body with oversight functions; they depend on and are exclusively supervised by the executive.…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. There is no independent oversight of the intelligence services in Venezuela. Studies carried out by civil society organisations…
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Q22
0/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The regulations of the intelligence services do not establish objective and clear criteria for the selection of senior officers. Many of these positions are…
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The directors of the SEBIN and the DGCIM are freely appointed and removable by the President of the Republic. As such, these positions solely…
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Within the regulations for the Venezuelan intelligence services, background checks and eligibility criteria are not laid out as prerequisites for senior positions [1, 2].…
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Export Controls
Q23
0/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Since the beginning of discussions for the proposal and signature of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), Venezuela has opposed signing. Initially, its opposition formed…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Venezuela has neither signed nor ratified the Arms Trade Treaty [1].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Although Venezuela has revealed its intentions of creating an arms industry with export capacity by building Kalashnikov and…
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Lobbying in Defence
Venezuela has no legislation regulating lobbying activity, and there are no draft laws seeking to introduce regulations for lobbying [1]. Within the current political…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Venezuela has no legislation regulating lobbying activity, and there are no draft laws seeking to introduce regulations for…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Venezuela has no legislation regulating lobbying activity, and there are no draft laws seeking to introduce regulations for…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’. Venezuela has no legislation regulating lobbying activity, and there are no draft laws seeking to introduce regulations for…
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