Venezuela: Human rights abuses in Maracaibo since 1995
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | VEN29539.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Venezuela: Human rights abuses in Maracaibo since 1995, 1 June 1998, VEN29539.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad0e44.html [accessed 25 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The annual report published by the Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (PROVEA), Venezuela's main human rights group, for the years 1994-1995, 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 (each report covers the period from October to September) registered a total of 423 individual cases of violations of the right to life of which 23 occurred in Maracaibo (state of Zulia).
In its October 1994-September 1995 annual report, Provea reports cases of harassment and arrests against individuals and groups linked to the Movimiento Revolucionario Bolivariano MBR-200 by officers of the Dirección de Inteligencia MilitarDIM (Military Intelligence) and the Dirección de Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención (DISIP), following protests by these individuals and groups in the cities of Valencia and Maracaibo. The report does not provide the names of individuals and groups involved in the protests (1995, 61).
In its October 1995-September 1996 annual report, Provea reports the deaths of at least twelve individuals, some of them minors, whose bodies were found in an abandoned field in Maracaibo between the months of August 1995 and April 1996 (1996, 30). The bodies bore signs of execution and the murders were attributed to either a death squad or to a single individual acting as an "anonymous avenger" (vengador anónimo) (ibid.). The report adds that "there is no reliable evidence linking these murders to policemen or members of state security agencies" (ibid.). However, it notes that "no efficient and decisive actions have been taken by these agencies to investigate those cases" (ibid.).
In its October 1996-September 1997 annual report, Provea reports the forced recruitment for military service of poor people living in popular suburbs (barrios populares) of Maracaibo in August 1997 by the state police acting on behalf of the armed forces (1997, 43). The report also mentions the apparently non-violent obstruction by members of the National Guard (GN) of the hunger strike initiated by six individuals of the University of Zulia in the Fiscalía General de la República (Attorney General's office) in November 1996 (ibid., 67). The National Guard forbade relatives and friends of the strikers from seeing them or bringing them food, as well as paramedics from the Fire Department from checking the strikers' physical condition (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Situación de los Derechos Humanos en Venezuela: Informe anual Octubre 1996 - Septiembre 1997. 1997. Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos, Caracas: PROVEA.
_____. Informe anual Octubre 1995 - Septiembre 1996. 1996. Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos, Caracas: PROVEA.
_____. Informe Anual Octubre 1994 - Septiembre 1995. 1995. Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos, Caracas: PROVEA.
Additional Sources Consulted
Human Rights Watch/Americas. 1997. Punishment Before Trial: Prison Conditions in Venezuela. New York: HRW.
Index on Censorship [London].1995-1998.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1995-1998.
Latin America Regional Reports [London]: Andean Group Reports. 1995-1998.
Latin America Weekly Report [London]. 1995-1998.
Red de Apoyo por la Justicia y la Paz. 1996. Venezuela: Horror e Impunidad. Registro y seguimiento de casos de violación del derecho a la vida, la seguridad y la integridad personal. Inventario No. 3. 1 de Nov. de 1994-31 de Oct. de 1995. Caracas: Red de Apoyo por la Justicia y la Paz.
Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank, Lexis/Nexis, Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC).
