February 6, 2021 10:40:36 am Three local and foreign human rights organizations reported Tuesday that attacks on rights defenders and civil society organizations in Venezuela have increased by 157% since 2019. The Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Caracas, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, and COFAVIC, a human rights non-governmental organization (NGO), published the report. The report explains that the crisis of the right to defend human rights in Venezuela has deepened significantly against the backdrop of COVID-19. The primary victims of the attacks are human rights NGOs, “which shows the deepening pattern of persecution against the expressions of organized civil society in Venezuela.”