Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to WPQ 93853, whether she has made any representations on behalf of Carlos Correa and others arbitrarily detained in Venezuela, since the Statement at the Human Rights Council on 27 June.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response provided on 13 October to Question 77020.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has funded any non-governmental or media organisations in Venezuela since 2023.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 15 May 2025 to Question 50066. She can find details of all programmes supported in Venezuela on the GOV.UK Development Tracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/).
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether any funds from the UK Integrated Security Fund have been allocated for projects involving Venezuela since 2024.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 15 May 2025 to Question 50066. She can find details of all programmes supported in Venezuela on the GOV.UK Development Tracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/).
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that a diplomatic path is pursued by the USA and Venezuela.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The bilateral relationship between the USA and Venezuela is a matter for those countries. The UK will continue to work with our international partners to achieve a peaceful, negotiated transition in Venezuela that ensures the will of all Venezuelans is respected.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues on the UK’s position in the event of military action by the United States against Venezuela.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Defence Secretary engages with Cabinet colleagues on a range of foreign policy issues. The US is the UK’s principal defence and security partner and the depth of our defence relationship with the US remains an essential pillar of our security.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the US has had decisions with her Department on US strategic objectives in tackling drug smuggling in (a) Venezuela and (b) the wider Caribbean.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have extensive discussions with the US on a wide range of shared security objectives, including on counter narcotics but specific operational activities undertaken by the US military in the Caribbean and the Pacific are a matter for the US.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the (a) US Department of State report entitled Venezuela 2024 Human Rights Report, published on 12 August 2025 and (b) UN Human Rights Council report entitled Detailed findings of the independent international factfinding mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, published on 14 October 2024.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns the continued erosion of human rights in Venezuela, and we have repeatedly called on the Venezuelan authorities to uphold human rights and cooperate fully with international mechanisms, including in our published statement to the Human Rights Council on 22 September.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support civil society organisations in Venezuela.
Answered by Catherine West
Further to my answer given on 15 May 2025 to question 50066, the UK is firmly committed to championing democracy and human rights around the world, including in Venezuela. We remain deeply concerned by the repression of civil society in Venezuela, including the harassment and intimidation of political figures, journalists, and human rights defenders. The UK has repeatedly called for an immediate end to repression and the unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained, most recently through a UK statement at the Human Rights Council on 27 June.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the British Overseas Territories to enforce sanctions against Venezuela.
Answered by Catherine West
On 10 January, the UK sanctioned 15 new individuals associated with Maduro's contested regime responsible for undermining democracy and committing serious human rights violations. The UK and Overseas Territories Governments work closely to apply UK sanctions across the Territories. The UK Government has been providing technical support to teams across the Overseas Territory Governments to build capability and to strengthen sanctions enforcement.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his (a) counterpart in Venezuela and (b) the Venezuelan Ambassador in London on Jesús Armas.
Answered by Catherine West
Protecting human rights in Venezuela is a priority for the UK and we have repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained, including at the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 18 March. On 26 May the Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean expressed the UK's deep concern about continuing repression and arbitrary detentions in Venezuela. The UK was also party to the G7 Foreign Ministers' statements of 24 September and 26 November 2024 calling for all unjustly detained political prisoners to be released. The UK will continue to work with international partners to achieve a peaceful solution in Venezuela and for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained.