Vance Center Joins Expert Meeting on Challenges to Justice and Reconstructing the Rule of Law in Venezuela

Institutional Integrity Program Advisor Cuitlahuac Castillo speaks during a discussion on methods to build and reinforce anti-corruption practices in Venezuela, on May 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: DPLF

On May 27-28, the Vance Center, the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), Transparencia Venezuela, and the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law convened an expert meeting to examine challenges of justice, anti-corruption, and rebuilding the rule of law in Venezuela.

The event brought together academics, litigators, prosecutors, and civil society representatives from across Latin America.

Over the two days, participants addressed three major thematic areas through panels and interactive conversations.

The first day’s discussion examined mechanisms for reforming and re-institutionalizing Venezuela’s justice system, drawing on lessons from comparative judicial vetting processes in Eastern Europe. Several attendees had prepared working papers for the meeting, which identified a central tension in judicial renewal processes: the need to remove justice operators compromised by the previous regime without undermining the guarantees of independence and irremovability enshrined in international law. Participants pointed to examples from Ukraine, Albania, Serbia, and Moldova that could offer lessons on the risks of inaction and the political coopting of these processes.

The second discussion focused on building an anti-corruption system in Venezuela. Speakers discussed methods to initiate credible grand corruption investigations in a context of institutional capture and to rebuild the Public Prosecutor’s Office while prioritizing the institution’s autonomy and integrity.

Cuitlahuac Castillo, Institutional Integrity Program Advisor at the Vance Center, presented a proposal based in part on the Vance Center’s 2023-2024 Latin America Anti-Corruption Assessment and its analysis of the state of Venezuela’s anti-corruption legal and institutional framework at the time.

The proposal identifies three core pillars to strengthen: prevention; oversight and control, and investigations and sanctions. It also covers cross-cutting elements like whistleblower protection, international cooperation, a hybrid international support mechanism, and key components of transitional justice. The proposal analyzes and outlines the capacities that an independent Public Prosecutor’s Office would need to develop, along with some initial ideas for building that capacity in Venezuela.

The third discussion examined international ad hoc mechanisms and relevant transitional justice experiences in contexts of systemic corruption. It also included  avenues for identifying illicit assets linked to corruption in Venezuela and legal recourse to confiscate those assets and ensure their return to Venezuela to address some of the societal and institutional harms of that corruption.

The event was organized in response to recent political and institutional changes in Venezuela, especially since the U.S. military action in January that removed President Nicolás Maduro. While speakers acknowledged significant uncertainty about the country’s leadership and near-term developments, they also emphasized the importance of setting a foundation for rebuilding the country’s justice system.

Looking ahead, participants highlighted the importance of keeping this issue in the public conversation, ensuring that justice reform and anti-corruption efforts remain on the agenda as the situation in Venezuela continues to evolve.