The announcement by Yván Gil, the foreign minister, comes just days after the detention and disappearance of Rocío San Miguel, a prominent security expert and human rights advocate.
Phil Gunson, a Caracas-based Venezuela expert for International Crisis Group, said the expulsion of the human rights agency, combined with Ms. San Miguel’s arrest, “marks a drastic hardening” by Mr. Maduro’s government of its actions against political opponents and critics.
The move also signals a dramatic turn in Venezuela, where just a few months ago Mr. Maduro was signing an accord with the country’s opposition and agreeing to work toward a free and fair presidential election.
And the arrests of Ms. San Miguel and five members of her family have critics, journalists and human rights workers concerned that they have entered a new era of political control and retribution.
Ever since, Mr. Maduro has been trying to claw his way back on to the world stage, and international recognition has been the carrot that the United States and other governments have held before him, offering it as reward for democratic concessions.
They have a large office complex in east Caracas, the capital, and have been a crucial source of humanitarian assistance in a place where nearly 80 percent of people say that they worry about going without food, according to a 2022 report from the Andrés Bello Catholic University.
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