The United Nations has accused Nicolás Maduro's government of committing crimes against humanity in its violent crackdown after this summer's rigged elections – a wave of violence that led to a growing new wave of exodus from Venezuela.

In a new 161-page report, the United Nations fact-finding mission describes specific incidents of killings, disappearances, sexual assault and gender-based violence, as well as physical, psychological and sexual torture.

“The reactivation of the most violent mechanisms of the state's repressive apparatus resulted in serious human rights violations and crimes and constituted one of the country's worst crises in recent years,” the report concluded, adding that the violence was “incited by the state.” the highest civilian and military ranks of the state, including President Maduro.”

In particular, the UN mission confirmed at least 25 murders, including two minors – all but one killed by gunfire. Although investigations into each case continue, it has been concluded that a third of the victims were killed by Maduro's security forces or government-backed groups.

In addition to the arrests and enforced disappearances of thousands of Venezuelans, it appeared that many of the killings were deliberate but seemingly random – targeting young men and working-class neighborhoods to create a climate of fear: “Most…weren't politicians or…” Individuals with a known public profile,” the report said.

Perhaps even more alarming, the detention of minors – 158 in total, 130 boys and 28 girls – is a “new phenomenon of particular importance,” the report said.

In brutal detail, the report tells the story of some of these children – a 16-year-old boy who was left with two broken teeth and an immobile left hand; another 16-year-old boy who was beaten and held for a week, with police warning his family was only released if they remained silent, and two girls aged 16 and 17 were stripped naked, groped and groped by security forces held.

This is “just a sampling of a much larger universe” of crimes, the mission said — one that stretched long before the post-election crackdowns and continues today.

“The authorities have intensified and accelerated the harshest and most violent form of repression to silence political opponents or those perceived as such,” the mission said. “The repression by state and private actors that continues to this day, with the toleration of the state, has led to a general climate of fear among the population.”

This climate of fear has had a direct impact on the rest of the region, particularly as thousands of Venezuelans have once again fled their country in the weeks since.

September saw a roughly 50% increase in the number of migrants crossing Panama's Darien Gap, driven almost entirely by Venezuelans, who accounted for about four in five migrants. According to the Panamanian government, there were actually 25,111 migrants in transit in September, of which 19,800 were Venezuelans.

That number is up from 16,603 in August – a steady decline after Panama's new president, backed by the US, tried to crack down on transit through the dangerous jungle. That policy, which includes U.S.-funded deportation flights, has proven successful in the eyes of some U.S. officials, but the numbers are still rising again – evidence to some aid groups that despite deterrent measures, those desperate for safety and security continue to seek to leave their homes to return for a better life.