By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN aid coordination office, OCHA on Tuesday said that Venezuela’s political shock has sharpened global attention on a country facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises.
UN agency noted that the priority remains unchanged: protecting lives, sustaining basic services and supporting Venezuelans at home and across the region.
Venezuela has faced years of economic collapse, political instability, hyperinflation and economic sanctions from Washington, compounded by floods, landslides and other climate shocks.
The recent seizure of President Nicolás Maduro by the US special forces has added a new layer of uncertainty to an already volatile situation, UN stated.
According to the OCHA, 7.9 million people more than a quarter of the population need urgent humanitarian assistance.
UN maintains a broad operational presence in Venezuela, with most agencies active on the ground.
The work spans food security, healthcare, gender equality, education, decent work, water and sanitation, and peacebuilding.
WFP, WHO and the UNFPA deliver life-saving aid and help keep essential services running from food distributions and nutrition screenings to maternal care and clean water projects.
UN leadership in Venezuela said it is closely assessing needs to ensure support can be scaled up if required after the latest political developments.
Venezuela’s human rights situation remains a core UN concern.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office continues to monitor violations.
High Commissioner Volker Türk in a briefing last month at the Human Rights Council warned of deepening repression, cited increased militarization, threats to journalists and human rights defenders, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances.
UN investigators have stressed that accountability for long-documented abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture and sexual and gender-based violence must not be overshadowed by the current crisis.
It is too early to know whether recent events will intensify the mass displacement that has unfolded over the past decade.
UN agencies said that millions of Venezuelans have fled repression, instability and economic hardship.
Some half of those who have left rely on informal, low-paid work; 4% struggle to afford enough food, and 23% live in overcrowded housing.
UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration coordinate a regional response across 17 countries.
It has helped over 4.5 million Venezuelans in Latin America and the Caribbean obtain regular status, giving access to documentation, protection and basic services.
The latest regional plan seeks $1.4 billion to reach 2.3 million vulnerable people, focusing on jobs, education, healthcare and protection.
UN said that it is commitment to Venezuelans’ dignity and protection, resources are stretched.
In 2025, 17 per cent of the over $600 million required for Venezuela’s Humanitarian Response Plan had been received.
UN officials warned that without increased funding, aid agencies will be forced to scale back support at a moment of heightened need.
UN agencies and the mission is constant in to keep humanitarian lifelines open, defend human rights and support Venezuelans inside the country and beyond its borders through an unfolding crisis with global consequences
