By Stefano Pozzebon, CNN

Caracas, Venezuela (CNN) — Faced with the prospect of armed conflict with the United States, Venezuela’s government seems to be encouraging citizens to spy on each other by using a revamped mobile application to report suspicious people or activities.

The software, called VenApp, was originally launched by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in 2022 as a hybrid application, integrating a messaging service with a helpline for people to report issues with utility services, such as power outages and water disruptions.

Now it is being used as a tool for Venezuelans to inform the government of anything that it might consider seditious or disloyal, raising alarm among Maduro opponents and human rights groups about a possible surge in political detentions.

“This initiative represents a serious concern for privacy, freedom of expression, and security, because it promotes a system of social vigilance and the militarization of public order,” the online activist group Venezuela Sin Filtro wrote in a statement.

The Venezuelan Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on criticism of the app.

Fearing that US pressure, including President Donald Trump’s recent authorization of CIA operations in Venezuela, could stir upheaval in his country, Maduro last month invited the armed forces to oversee the creation of “a new app, so that the people can safely report everything they hear, everything they read.”

Within a week, the update was made.

Adding to the government’s anxieties that the United States may be pursuing “regime change” in the South American nation, the US military is deploying warships, fighter jets, and up to 10,000 troops to the southern Caribbean Sea, allegedly to combat drug traffickers.

The operations, which the Trump administration claims have killed more than 60 alleged “narcoterrorists,” have been criticized by the United Nations and some US lawmakers, as well as several governments in the region. They are concerned about the abuse of presidential powers in committing what they say are extrajudicial killings without disclosing any proof of guilt.

Maduro has ruled Venezuela with an iron fist since 2013 and has clung to power despite an apparently decisive loss in the 2024 presidential election. The country’s electoral authority, stacked with Maduro sympathizers, proclaimed him the winner amid allegations of vote-rigging, which the government denied.

When widespread street protests erupted after that election, Maduro invited citizens to use VenApp to report opposition activities. Human Rights groups such as Amnesty International then weighed in. Amnesty warned that the app could be used “to not only limit people’s right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, but also potentially contribute to unlawful arrests, detention, and other serious human rights abuses.”

The furor prompted Apple and Google to remove VenApp from their play stores.

But even though it could no longer be downloaded, the app never stopped working: Those who had VenApp before August 2024 can access it on their smartphones, and the government also created and sponsored a mobile version that runs in browsers.

In the capital, Caracas, CNN took a rare look at the application.

Citizens were invited to inform the government if they see drones or the presence of “suspicious people” in Venezuela.

Human rights organizations have renewed their criticism, airing concerns about the persecution of dissent in a country where more than 800 people are behind bars for political reasons, according to the legal rights organization Foro Penal. The government denies holding political prisoners.

Among VenApp users who support the government’s aims is a resident of a slum on the outskirts of Caracas who spoke anonymously, fearing government retaliation for speaking to a foreign journalist and retribution from neighbors who oppose Maduro.

The app worked beautifully to resolve public utility hiccups, he told CNN, and he would not hesitate to use it to inform on other Venezuelans if he felt the country was under attack from foreign forces.

“We are prepared to defend the fatherland, our country, as the good revolutionaries we are!” said the man, who is in his 50s and does odd jobs in Venezuela’s vast “informal economy.”

It is hard to quantify how many other Venezuelans support Maduro.

According to electoral tallies collected by the opposition, which CNN’s analysis found to be legitimate, Maduro won about 30% of the vote in last year’s election. The European Union and independent electoral monitoring organizations such as the Carter Center and the Colombian Electoral Mission also backed the opposition’s claim.

It is similarly difficult to gauge the support that a US offensive on Venezuelan territory would receive. Most Venezuelans who spoke to CNN in Caracas were wary of sharing their opinions publicly.

VenApp could be part of the reason.

“I would never even dream of downloading it. It’s scary that there’s now an app for citizens to denounce each other,” one opposition supporter told CNN, also speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“On top of that, how do we know that the app is not spying on you?” said the woman, who is in her 40s and works for a private media company. “This is a government that spies on its people.”