[7][9] Human Rights Watch described colectivos as "armed gangs who use violence with impunity" to harass political opponents of the Venezuelan government.

[10] Through violence and intimidation, by 2019 colectivos increasingly became a means of quashing the opposition and maintaining political power;[9][13] Maduro called on them during the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts.

[16] The opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela designated the colectivos as terrorist groups due to their "violence, paramilitary actions, intimidation, murders and other crimes," declaring their acts as state-sponsored terrorism.

[17] On 16 September 2020, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela concluded in its first report that Venezuelan authorities and colectivos committed "violations amounting to crimes against humanity".

[22] Colectivos emerged during the 1960s from urban guerrilla warfare in metropolitan Venezuela, and made a return during Chávez's tenure[5][23] when he created their parent organizations, known as Bolivarian Circles.

[25] InSight Crime says their power began to increase after the attempted coup, when Chávez decided he needed a security force independent of the military to counteract opposition demonstrators.

[6] Bloomberg says that when he created the Bolivarian Circles, Chávez "brought the former outlaws into the socialist fold", where some also gained access to weapons through government jobs.

[1] Stratfor says that Diosdado Cabello, then serving as chief of staff for Chávez, was instrumental in the founding of the Bolivarian Circles, and maintains close ties to the colectivos.

[24] Chávez assigned colectivos to be "the armed wing of the Bolivarian Revolution" for the Venezuelan government, giving them weapons, communication systems, motorcycles and surveillance equipment to exercise control in the hills of Caracas where police are forbidden entry.

[33] In 2009, several dozen La Piedrita motorcyclists with red berets surrounded the entrance of the offices of television station Globovisión and subdued the security guards, entering the facility by force while tossing two tear gas canisters into the building.

[38][39] During the 2012 presidential election, at a visit by opposition candidate Henrique Capriles to the San José de Cotiza neighbourhood in Caracas, a group of armed PSUV members began firing guns "in an apparent effort to break up the rally".

Journalists for television channel Globovisión that were covering the rally (reporter Sasha Ackerman, cameraman Frank Fernández and assistant Esteban Navas) were threatened by the armed men, who confiscated their equipment and footage of the shootings.

[41] Immediate Mobilization Networks (in Spanish: Fuerzas Inmediatas de Movilización) were an alleged paramilitary organization formed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to remain in control of the country if he was defeated in the 2012 presidential election.

[42][opinion][better source needed] During the 2013 presidential election, Reuters said colectivos were "a key part of the government's electoral machinery" that "help[ed] sway close races and are sometimes tarred by critics as poll station thugs who intimidate opponents".

[63][64] Right before he was shot, Odreman had made statements hinting at government involvement in Serra's death, saying to Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres, "I lay full responsibility on you of what might happen to me.

[63][65] The director of CICPC, José Gregorio Sierralta, stated that officers were fired upon and responded with deadly force that killed the colectivo members including Odreman.

[75][76] During the 2017 Venezuelan protests against Maduro, The New York Times stated that colectivos "appear to be playing a key role in repressing dissent";[7] they fight alongside officials and "engage in fiercer and often deadly intimidation".

Rubio asked if there was a "real threat" of colectivos selling advanced weaponry to the FARC, drug cartels or terrorists on the black market, to which Director Pompeo replied, "it is a real threat ... Maduro gets more desperate by the hour, the risk of these colectivos acting in a way that is not under his control increases as time goes on as well", mentioning that there has not been evidence of major arms deals taking place, though "stockpiles exist".

[80][81] In early 2018, Voice of America said members of colectivos in Aragua state appeared on a Colombian radio show and explained that they were paid by the government to violently prevent opposition marches and that some of their colleagues had "murdered several people".

[1] As tens of thousands of protesters marched in support on the day that Guaidó took the oath to serve as president, The Guardian reported that Maduro "allies threatened the use of armed pro-government militias–known as colectivos—to quell disturbances".

"[89] In 2019, the opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela designated the colectivos as terrorist groups due to their "violence paramilitary actions, intimidation, murders and other crimes", declaring their acts as state-sponsored terrorism.

[14] US State Department special envoy to Venezuela Elliot Abrams labeled this a "breakdown in law and order", and said, "That's calling for armed gangs to take over the streets (...) Perhaps it is a sign of Maduro's lack of confidence in his own security forces.

[93][94] On 3 November 2022, colectivos attacked and denailed four female students of the University of the Andes that were protesting against the visit in Mérida state of Diosdado Cabello, vice-president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

[95] In the morning of the 2023 Unitary Platform presidential primaries, on 22 October, colectivos prevented the installation of the voting center in the El Guarataro neighborhood of western Caracas.

[6] La Piedrita colectivo is one of the most influential in Caracas,[29] specifically in 23 de Enero barrio where it has its roots dating to 1985 with founders Carlos Ramírez and Valentín Santana.

[106] Chávez's government had an "ambiguous" relationship with the Tupamaros, who helped manage social programs, such as child care and drug rehabilitation centers, and promoted political participation; however, the Tupamaros' involvement in vigilante justice in high crime areas that the police force often avoided led to rifts with the federal government, which resorted on occasions to using the military to deal with the groups when they clashed with police.

[4] According to The New York Times, colectivos "control vast territory across Venezuela, financed in some cases by extortion, black-market food and parts of the drug trade as the government turns a blind eye in exchange for loyalty".

[4] Despite the Venezuelan government's statements saying that only official authorities can carry weapons for the defense of Venezuela, colectivos are armed with automatic rifles such as AK-47s, submachine guns, fragmentation grenades, and tear gas.

[7] Some colectivos patrol the 23 de Enero barrio on motorcycles, masked and armed, supposedly to protect the neighborhood from criminals such as drug dealers.

[32] According to Ennio Cardozo, a professor of political science at the Central University of Venezuela, colectivos "do talks, forums and they indoctrinate very young kids into Marxism.