What happens after authoritarianism collapses? What does justice require from those who survived it?

This second installment of our January conversation moves from structural analysis to lived testimony — at a pivotal moment for Venezuela.

Following the recent approval of a new Amnesty Law aimed at facilitating political release and national reconciliation, urgent questions arise: Can amnesty coexist with accountability? How should democratic transitions address crimes against humanity? What safeguards are necessary to prevent impunity?

Venezuelan human rights defenders Génesis Dávila and Rodrigo Diamanti return to examine how systematic repression evolved into international crimes — and what a rights-centered transition must look like.

Joining them is former political prisoner Jesús Armas, released on February 8, 2026, after more than a year in detention. Abducted without a warrant in December 2024, he was taken to El Helicoide, one of Latin America’s most notorious detention centers, where political dissidents have faced enforced disappearance, torture, and prolonged isolation.

Armas — a former Caracas City Council member, Stanford fellow, and pro-democracy organizer — will share firsthand testimony of arbitrary detention, coercion, and survival. His experience brings human dimension to the broader legal debate unfolding in Venezuela.

The panel will explore:
• How repression became institutionalized
• Why international litigation became the only path to justice
• The role of survivor testimony in democratic transitions
• What accountability requires beyond regime change
• The legal and transitional implications of the newly approved Amnesty Law and its role in Venezuela’s evolving democratic landscape

This conversation centers truth, dignity, and the voices of those who endured persecution.

Génesis Dávila is a Venezuelan lawyer and founder of Defiende Venezuela, an NGO dedicated to advancing justice through international human rights litigation. Under her leadership, Defiende Venezuela achieved a landmark ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that restored the Court’s jurisdiction over Venezuela in the case Salamanca Chirinos et al. v. Venezuela, reopening the doors of justice for Venezuelan victims across the region. Through strategic litigation, Dávila has represented more than 2,000 victims before international bodies and courts, worked with the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and advised the Organization of American States on crimes against humanity in Venezuela. She has trained advocates from authoritarian regimes and has been featured in leading media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, Voice of America, BBC, and The New York Times. Dávila is the co-author of Pathway to Justice: Handbook for the Liberation of Political Prisoners.

Rodrigo Diamanti is a Venezuelan human rights activist, Harvard Kennedy School MPA graduate, former political prisoner of the Maduro regime, and founder and president of Un Mundo Sin Mordaza, an NGO dedicated to promoting freedom of expression, democratic values, and human rights through international advocacy and creative public campaigns. As the creator of the global SOS Venezuela protests, Diamanti mobilized worldwide attention to the Venezuelan rights crisis and was detained by state security forces before being forced into exile. He currently serves as Secretary of the Independent International Expert Panel on the Situation of Crimes Against Humanity in Venezuela, contributing to documentation, analysis, and accountability efforts before international bodies. His work focuses on exposing state repression, amplifying victims’ voices, and advancing democratic renewal grounded in human rights.

Jesús Armas is a Venezuelan activist and dedicated advocate for democracy who has become a symbol of resilience and courage in the face of authoritarian repression. His work to promote human rights, transparency, and civic engagement in Venezuela has earned him international recognition, but it has also made him a target of the Maduro regime. Jesús’s illegal detention in 2024 stresses the ongoing human rights violations in Venezuela. It highlights the urgent need for global action to secure his freedom and support the Venezuelan people’s struggle for democracy. Armas is a former Caracas City Council member, Stanford fellow. He was released on February 8, 2026.

This event is cosponsored by the University of Chicago Law School's International Programs, Global Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Law Society, and International Law Society, and The University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression (Lead support for the Chicago Forum’s Zell Speaker and Event Series comes from the Zell Family Foundation).

Lunch from BienMeSabe Venezuelan Arepa Bar. Please submit dietary requests eight business days prior to the program to Aican Nguyen at aican@uchicago.edu. Although we will try to accommodate dietary needs, it is not guaranteed.