9. Seguridad Nacional (Venezuela)
The Seguridad Nacional was Venezuela’s secret police during the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez from 1952 to 1958. Under the leadership of Pedro Estrada, the agency systematically persecuted political opponents through arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Notably, it operated a forced labor camp on Guasina Island, where numerous detainees suffered severe human rights abuses. The agency’s actions instilled a pervasive climate of fear, contributing to the eventual downfall of Pérez Jiménez’s regime.
