Witness to Power: Political Persecution, Institutional Repression, and Chains of Command in Venezuela

This work constitutes a documentary and analytical record of a pattern of political persecution carried out by the Venezuelan State against individuals and groups identified by their political views, associative ties, or real or alleged connections to the case of Óscar Alberto Pérez. Rather than a theoretical essay or retrospective interpretation, the book presents a reconstruction based on documented facts, direct testimonies, and contemporaneous evidentiary appendices. Drawing on approaches from political science, institutional analysis, and human rights research, it examines mechanisms of state repression, chains of command, the instrumentalization of judicial and military structures, and the human impact of these practices. The work documents cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, illegal raids, torture, forced exile, and persecution by association, with particular attention to the use of Masonic affiliation as a vector of repression. It incorporates verifiable materials—including judicial records, internal communications, forensic reports, and testimonial evidence—with the aim of preserving historical memory and enabling academic and legal analysis of the documented events. This edition is published as an open-access academic work intended for researchers, students, organizations, and readers interested in understanding the internal functioning of state repression in authoritarian contexts.