Torture in Venezuela

Torture in Venezuela has been a consistent phenomenon throughout its history. Various dictatorships from the Spanish colonial era into the twentieth century utilized torture against common criminals and political opponents. In the twentieth century, torture was common during the dictatorships of Juan Vicente Gómez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Torture also took place occasionally during Venezuela's democratic period, particularly during social outbursts, such as during the Caracazo and the 1992 coup attempts.

Into the twenty-first century, torture reached levels that had not been seen since the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship in the 1950s. During the crisis in Venezuela, the United Nations, Organization of American States, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Foro Penal documented acts of torture and violence towards real or perceived opponents of the Bolivarian government, mainly detainees, including by state institutions such as the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN).

The General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) is known to operate a torture centre in its headquarters in Caracase, known as the Casa de los Sueños (English: "House of Dreams").