Washington D.C. – CIDH, Oct. 03, 2025
On October 2, 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) adopted Resolution 70/2025, granting precautionary measures in favor of Camilo Castro, after considering that he is in a situation of seriousness and urgency, as his rights to life and personal integrity are at risk of irreparable harm in Venezuela.
According to the request, the beneficiary is a French citizen and yoga instructor, who reportedly traveled to the border between Colombia and Venezuela to carry out a migration procedure on June 26, 2025. Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown. The requesting party stated that judicial remedies could not be activated because his family members are not in Venezuela and Venezuelan authorities would require the physical presence of a relative or close person to submit any request. In this regard, it was added that it has not been possible to exercise his legal defense. He also reportedly has not been allowed access to consular assistance. The State, for its part, did not provide information to the IACHR.
After analyzing the factual and legal allegations made by the requesting party, the Commission considered that, as long as the beneficiary’s whereabouts continue to be unknown, and given the passage of time, the likelihood of violations of his rights increases. Additionally, the Commission noted that his family and close contacts have not been able to activate domestic mechanisms to locate him, and that the beneficiary has not had access to consular assistance. In this context, no information was provided by the State regarding concrete actions to address or mitigate his risk situation. Under these circumstances, based on Article 25 of the Regulations, the Commission requests that Venezuela:
Adopt the necessary measures to protect Camilo Castro’s rights to life and personal integrity. In particular:
Inform whether the beneficiary is under State custody and, if so, indicate the reason and circumstances of his detention; or, if not, the measures taken to determine his whereabouts or fate;
If the beneficiary is in State custody, clarify whether any charges have been brought against him and whether he has been presented before a competent court to review his detention; and if so, explicitly name the court handling his criminal case, or, if he has not appeared before a court, explain why not;
Facilitate communication between the beneficiary and his family, representatives, trusted lawyers, and consular authorities of his country, granting them full access to his judicial file, if it exists;
Inform whether the beneficiary has been provided access to a translator or interpreter to fully understand his situation and exercise his rights;
Ensure he can communicate with his country of nationality; and
Report on the actions taken to investigate the alleged events that gave rise to this resolution and prevent their recurrence.
