Over the past few years, the Centro de Justicia y Paz (Justice and Peace Center or CEPAZ) has identified and trained a citizen network of potential human rights defenders in Venezuela. We believe that to empower citizen in human rights is the best way to transform the societaty. These citizen defenders had no previous human rights training, but sprang into action in response to increased human rights violations, especially in the regions where there are fewer established human rights organizations. Through theoretical and practical trainings, CEPAZ is educating grassroots leaders on human rights norms, and build their capacity to document and denounce violations. Also, CEPAZ facilitate increased interaction among state-level networks, and between new citizen defenders and more established human rights organizations.