OSINT of Venezuela
This post is part of UNISHKA Research Service’s ongoing OSINT series. If you’re interested in more, subscribe to our Substack and follow us on social media to stay in the loop. We regularly share country-specific OSINT toolkits, along with case studies, investigative tips, and real-world examples to support open-source investigations. Our aim is to support journalists, analysts, and engaged citizens with actionable resources and insights.
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Mikel Viteri, an Intelligence and Operations Researcher in the UK, who collaborated with UNISHKA on this toolkit.
If we’ve missed any good sources, just drop us a comment or send an email to abawer@unishka.com — we’ll make sure to add them to the toolkit!
Entry #20 OSINT Series
Open Data Portals
INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Venezuela) – Demographics, population, employment, economy.
BCV (Banco Central de Venezuela) – Economic indicators, inflation, GDP, exchange rates.
IMF Venezuela – Macroeconomic outlook, Article IV consultations, inflation data.
ICEX (España) – Market reports, commercial risk, import/export guidance on Venezuela.
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – Venezuela Economic and social reports by the UN regional commission.
OEC – The Observatory of Economic Complexity - Trade and economic data with interactive visualizations.
ReliefWeb – Venezuela- Humanitarian data, crisis updates, and situation reports on Venezuela.
Company Registries / Business Info
SENIAT (Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria) – SENIAT (Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria) is Venezuela's national authority responsible for tax and customs administration. Despite the limited open data, certain information is accessible to the public (Use VPN to Access):
Taxpayer Identification (RIF): Using the RIF number, you can verify a company’s tax registration and legal status.
Public Declarations: Certain administrative rulings and resolutions are published in the Official Gazette and may be accessed through SENIAT's website.
Registro Nacional de Contratistas (RNC) – Registry of government contractors.
tugacetaoficial.com - Major legal changes, company incorporations, and amendments are published here.
Infobel Venezuela – Business and phone directory
Open Sanctions Venezuela - contains 2,138 entities.
List of Companies in Venezuela - renechdigital
OpenCorporates - Global open data on companies and corporate registries, sometimes including Venezuelan businesses.
Land & Property Records
SAREN handles the registration of real estate (property deeds, transfers, and mortgages) through the Registro de Inmuebles (Property Registry).
You can request a property certificate (certificado de gravamen y dominio) to verify ownership and any encumbrances.
This is usually done in person at the local SAREN office corresponding to the property location.
People Search
Venezuela Phone Number Lookup - This Number
Search public information on any person in Venezuela - Dates
Free Venezuela People Search - People Search Global Website
CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral) –
Check if your name is registered to vote.
Confirm your assigned polling station.
Verify your personal voter information using your Cédula de Identidad.
Social Searcher – Multi-platform social media search.
DEA – Venezuela Investigations & Fugitives – Look up indictments, press releases, and most-wanted persons related to Venezuela
Litigation & Regulatory
Gaceta Oficial TSJ (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia) - Court decisions, public cases.
Contraloría General de la República - The country's supreme fiscal oversight body, lists disqualification records.
DEA – Venezuela Investigations & Fugitives – Look up indictments, press releases, and most-wanted persons related to Venezuela
Defensoría del Pueblo – Handles human rights complaints, institutional reports, and government oversight.
Additional Human Rights / NGO Sources
Acceso a la Justicia, a Venezuelan NGO that monitors and analyzes the justice system and rule of law in Venezuela.
Human Rights Watch – Venezuela (reports and updates)
Amnesty International – Venezuela.
PROVEA (Programa Venezolano de Educación- Acción en Derechos Humanos) – Leading Venezuelan human rights organization with reports and alerts.
CEPAZ (Centro de Justicia y Paz) – Civil society organization focused on electoral monitoring and human rights.
Freedom House – Venezuela – Annual reports on political rights and civil liberties.
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) – Venezuela
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) – Venezuela – Official reports and petitions regarding human rights situations
UN Human Rights Office – Venezuela – United Nations reports and statements on human rights issues.
ReliefWeb – Venezuela- Humanitarian data, crisis updates, and situation reports on Venezuela.
Procurement & Tenders
SNC (Servicio Nacional de Contrataciones) – Government contracts and tenders (Use VPN) Also lists their announcements on X (Twitter).
TendersOnTime - Venezuela
EU Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) platform lists tenders including those related to Venezuela that are funded or managed by EU institutions.
Sanctions, Financial Crime & PEPs
Global Financial Integrity (GFI) – Reports on illicit financial flows in Venezuela
WHOIS and Domain Info
NIC.ve – Domain registration authority (limited lookup options).
Whois.domaintools.com – WHOIS for any domain.
ViewDNS.info – WHOIS, DNS history, IP geolocation.
crt.sh – Certificate transparency logs (search by email/domain)
Crime & Security OSINT Sources — Venezuela
Numbeo Crime Index (Venezuela) – User-contributed data on crime rates, safety perceptions, and trends by city and region.
Global Peace Index – Comprehensive country rankings on peace, violence, and security conditions.
OSAC (Overseas Security Advisory Council) – Venezuela – US State Dept. reports and crime/security advisories for Venezuela.
Insight Crime – Venezuela – In-depth investigative journalism and analysis on organized crime, gangs, and violence in Venezuela.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – Venezuela – Official crime statistics, drug trafficking and law enforcement data.
World Prison Brief – Venezuela – Prison population, incarceration rates, and penitentiary conditions.
Transparency International – Venezuela – Corruption and crime-related governance reports and indices.
INTERPOL Red Notices – Venezuela – International wanted persons alerts, searchable by country.
Foro Penal Venezolano – NGO tracking political prisoners, human rights abuses, and arbitrary arrests.
Local Journalism & Fact-Checking
State-Aligned / Chavismo Media These are official or pro-government media outlets. Useful for monitoring regime messaging, narratives, and disinformation patterns.
Telesur TV - Launched in 2005 by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Telesur is primarily funded by the Venezuelan government, with additional contributions from Nicaragua and Cuba.
Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) - Established in 1964, VTV is the primary state-owned television network in Venezuela.
Correo del Orinoco - Founded in 2009, Correo del Orinoco is a government-owned newspaper.
Últimas Noticias – In recent years, the newspaper has allegedly been described as "pro-government."
El Universal – Following its acquisition by investors with government connections, the newspaper's editorial line has allegedly become more favorable towards the administration, though it allegedly retains some degree of independence.
Última Hora – Allegedly aligned with government messaging.
Opposition-Aligned Media
These outlets are allegedly critical of the government and often allegedly focus on corruption, repression, and governance failures.
Efecto Cocuyo – Independent investigative journalism and fact-checking.
Tal Cual Digital – Opinion and news with democratic/social-democratic lean.
Runrun.es – Investigative journalism by Nelson Bocaranda; allegedly major exposés.
El Pitazo – Strong regional journalism; allegedly frequently blocked inside Venezuela.
La Patilla – Opposition-leaning digital media outlet.
El Estímulo – Covers economic, social, and political issues.
Verdades y Rumores – Independent investigative outlet focused on social issues.
Dólar Today – A key source for Venezuela’s parallel exchange rate and economic information.
Infobae – A regional news outlet covering Venezuela and Latin America.
Banned / Exiled Media
Some outlets have been censored, blocked, or forced into exile but remain influential.
El Nacional – Once Venezuela’s leading newspaper; now operates in exile.
Armando.info – Exiled investigative journalists; deep corruption reporting.
NTN24 Venezuela – Colombia-based broadcaster banned in Venezuela.
Fact-Checking & Verification Initiatives
Cazadores de Fake News – Venezuela’s primary OSINT and fact-checking collective.
Observatorio Venezolano de Fake News – Tracks disinformation campaigns.
Ground News – Aggregates news from multiple sources with bias and reliability indicators; useful for cross-verification.
Venezuelan Think Tanks
Government-Affiliated Think Tanks
Centro de Investigaciones de Política y Economía (CIPE) – Research in public policy and economic planning. No official website publicly available; often referenced via government portals.
Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo (CENDES) – Universidad Central de Venezuela. Focuses on social, economic, and political development research.
Independent / Non-Governmental Think Tanks
Orinoco Research – Independent research on mining and environmental issues, especially the Orinoco Mining Arc.
Fundación IDEA – Democracy, governance, and political development.
Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS) – Monitoring of social conflicts and protests.
Fundación para el Desarrollo de las Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales (FUDECI) – Scientific and environmental research.
Instituto de Estudios Políticos (IEP) – Universidad Central de Venezuela. Independent political analysis and research.
Fundación Reflejos de Venezuela – Human rights and social research.
Centro de Estudios de Derecho Ambiental de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (CEDA-UCAB) – Environmental law and sustainability.
Fundación Tierra Viva – Focus on sustainable development and environmental protection.
Instituto de Estudios Parlamentarios Fermín Toro – Governance and legislative affairs research.
Media & Archival Intelligence
Runrun.es – Investigative Journalism
PROVEA – Human Rights Reports
CEPAZ – Electoral Alerts & Civil Society Research
Internet Archive – Venezuela Content
Maps & Satellite Tools
Mapillary – Street-Level Imagery
Dark Web & Illicit Marketplace Monitoring
Use with caution and legal compliance
Miscellaneous
IESA (Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración) – Think tank for Venezuelan business and economic research.
Wikileaks - Venezuela
CIA Factbook - Venezuela
The Autonomous Service of Intellectual Property (SAPI) is Venezuela's national office responsible for managing intellectual property rights, including trademarks and patents
Bellingcat – Investigative OSINT Reports and Guides related to Venezuela
Want more tools? Check out our full collection of OSINT resources here: https://unishka.com/resources/
If we’ve missed any good sources, just drop us a comment or send an email to abawer@unishka.com — we’ll make sure to add them to the toolkit!