The crackdown on political dissent in Venezuela during the disputed presidential election is the deadliest in recent years, according to a new analysis by Human Rights Watch.
The rights group says it has documented 11 killings that allegedly took place in the context of mass political protests following the presidential election, when authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro claimed a third term as president.
“On average, [este ano] is much more intense in terms of the number of people who died in the context of post-election violence and protests,” HRW Americas director Juanita Goebertus told CNN .
According to the Venezuelan government’s own figures, at least 2,400 people have been detained, including several minors, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have reported 24 people killed.
“In terms of arrests, more than 2,400 [pessoas detidas]which is well above the data we saw in 2014 and 2017,” Goebertus added, referring to previous cycles of protests in Venezuela that were also violently repressed.
Opposition supporters risked arrest and assault for showing their anger at the vote result.
The Venezuelan opposition coalition claims that the elections were stolen and has gathered electoral records from across the country to support the thesis that candidate Edmundo González actually won the presidency.
However, Venezuelan authorities have yet to release detailed voting records to verify the outcome.
To analyze the 11 homicides, HRW says it reviewed death certificates, verified 39 videos and two photographs, and interviewed more than 20 people.
In several cases, HRW’s analysis concluded that state security forces or government-aligned militias were likely involved in the killings.
In one case, HRW says it has verified three videos in which members of the National Guard are seen firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a protest in El Valle, a working-class neighborhood of Caracas, on July 29, less than 24 hours after Maduro was declared the winner.
Videos geolocated by HRW allegedly show two injured people, Anthony García, 20, and Olinger Montaño, 23, being carried away by protesters.
Both died a few hours later from gunshots and chest wounds, according to their death certificates reviewed by HRW.
In another incident in Maracay, Aragua state, six people died from gunshot wounds, the report said.
Among them was Rances Yzarra, a civil engineer who took part in the protests out of “frustration with the lack of change,” according to a friend cited by HRW.
Like García and Montaño, Yzarra was killed by a bullet that pierced his thoracic organs, causing acute hemorrhagic shock, according to his death certificate, which HRW said it had reviewed.
THE CNN could not independently verify the report’s allegations.
After the protests, Attorney General Tarek William Saab appeared to dispute reports of killings, claiming that opposition activists were faking their own deaths and simulating injuries using ketchup.
He later recanted when Maduro himself acknowledged dozens of deaths, saying they occurred at the hands of criminal groups.
Another cause for concern, Goebertus told CNN is a new law passed on August 15 that restricts the actions of local NGOs and human rights groups, many of which were instrumental in gathering the evidence behind the HRW report.
“It is no surprise that this bill is being passed at this very moment, allowing the government to criminally prosecute those who represent non-governmental organizations. If it goes ahead, the possibility of being completely blind in terms of repression will be very real in Venezuela,” he concluded.
This content was originally published in Repression of the opposition in Venezuela is the deadliest in recent years, says NGO on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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