"The human rights situation in Venezuela has become more precarious since 2008, when Human Rights Watch released its last report on Venezuela, A Decade Under Chávez. The pro-Chávez majority in the National Assembly has passed legislation expanding the government’s powers to limit free speech and
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to punish its critics. The Supreme Court—packed with Chávez supporters in 2004 and re-packed in 2010—has openly rejected its role as an independent check on presidential power, while joining with the president in dismissing the authority of the Inter-American system of human rights. The accumulation of power in the executive, the removal of institutional safeguards, and the erosion of human rights guarantees have given the Chávez government free rein to intimidate, censor, and punish Venezuelans who “offend” the president or obstruct his political aims. Tightening the Grip documents the abuses, showing how President Hugo Chávez and his supporters have made ample use of these powers over the past four years in a wide range of cases, with negative consequences for judicial independence, media freedom, and civil and political rights." (Back cover)
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