Venezuela: Guaidó denounced the fact that Chavismo "assassinated an opposition counselor"

As part of a volcanic Thursday, October 17 in Venezuela, the parliamentary leader Juan Guaidó He accused Nicolás Maduro's government of having "murdered" opposition advisor Edmundo "Pipo" Rada, whose whereabouts have not been known since Wednesday. The body of the party leader Guaidó appeared "burnt, with two knockouts on the neck"Guaidó told reporters, demanding an international investigation of the event.

"It is an assassination of the dictatorship of Maduro, there are clear indications that the cause is political", assured the leader of the opposition, recognized as president in charge of Venezuela by fifty countries.

Guaidó reported to the press that "The crime of Rada was committed by the Special Action Forces (FAES), this is the information we have". FAES, an elite police force created in 2017, is accused of multiple human rights violations as part of its fight against crime, including alleged executions.

Guaidó did not specify where they found the body of Rada, councilor of the municipality Sucre (east) of Caracas, but insisted that he is claiming a "independent, impartial and international investigation" for clarification of the case:

VIDEO | The President of Venezuela, @jguaido, announced that it would request the opening of an independent, impartial and international investigation into the assassination of the councilor by the Municipality of Sucre, Edmundo Rada pic.twitter.com/nHtuiWEQ8I

– National Communication Center (@ Presidencia_VE) October 17, 2019

The Chavist authorities did not comment on the death of Rada, a member of the popular will party with Guaidó and known to be a social leader in the popular district of Petare, collaborating in social activities and organizing community canteens.

Paradoxically, shortly before the opposition's complaint about Rada's death, President Nicolás Maduro celebrated the fact that Venezuela had been endowed with a bank at the Human Rights Council UN, despite criticism from NGOs and several Latin American countries.

"The very day that a UN system allows a dictatorship like Maduro's to sit in an armchair soaked in blood, they kill Edmundo Rada," Guaidó said.

A report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Chilean Committee Michelle Bachelet, said last July that the Venezuelan government reported 5,287 deaths due to "resistance to the authority" in 2018 and 1,569 deaths between 1 January and 19 May 2019. According to Bachelet, many of these cases may constitute extrajudicial executions.

Euphoric, Maduro qualified as "victory" Venezuelan entry on Thursday to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period 2020-2022, a fact that coincided with the release of 24 opponents.

"Victory to the UN! With 105 votes in its favor, Venezuela joins the United Nations Human Rights Council as a free and sovereign country." Above threats, our peace diplomacy Bolivarianism and the free determination of peoples triumphed ", Maduro celebrated on Twitter.

Victory at the UN! With 105 votes in favor, Venezuela joins the United Nations Human Rights Council as a free and sovereign country. Above the threats, our Bolivarian peace diplomacy has triumphed and the free self-determination of peoples. Long live the country! pic.twitter.com/5gwFcCuv7d

– Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) October 17, 2019

Caracas won 105 votes in a vote marked by applause when announcing the result. Two seats were available for Latin America. Brazil won the second seat with 153 votes. Costa Rica, which tried to block Venezuela, got 96 accessions. The Bolivarian Chancellor Jorge Arreaza, he said, for his part, that it is one of the most "historic victory" got in the middle of "A fierce and brutal campaign by the United States Government and its subordinate countries."

AFP / HB / DS