police officers were recorded during the execution of a detainee

Six officers of the Bolivarian National Police from Miranda, Venezuela, are wanted on charges of participating in the “extrajudicial” murder of an inmate.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said the prosecution had requested the arrest of the policemen from the Nicolás Maduro regime implicated in the crime.

“The Venezuelan public prosecutor has requested and obtained an arrest warrant against the officials of PNB-Miranda: Willians Ortega, Félix Villanueva, Chacón, Jean Carlos; Ibarra, Joswual; Maldonado, Robert; and Díaz, José: participants in the extrajudicial execution of Dimilison Guzmán Santaella, ”Saab said on Twitter.

And he added: “Likewise, because of this unfortunate homicide, the arrest warrants have been granted against two other officials of the PNB-Miranda: Freites Martínez César and Yuster, David Cedeño López.”

According to what was reported by the local press, the victim, a member of the “Cachete” gang, was shot dead in the La Trilla sector of Ocumare del Tuy.

The execution was recorded in a video that went viral on social media. The footage is compelling: A policeman stands in front of a man who was being held by two other policemen and shoot at close range.

The circumstances in which the murder took place are still unclear.

As detailed by Justice, the national police will be charged with the crimes of aggravated homicide, misuse of a regulatory weapon and conspiracy.

Between January and June of this year, they were recorded in Venezuela 825 extrajudicial executions by police and army responding to Maduro, as denounced by a report by the NGO Lupa por la Vida.

This number represents a decrease compared to the 1,611 executions recorded over the same period of 2020, according to the monitoring of police and military violence carried out by the NGO Provea and the Gumilla Center.

Despite the fact that the authors of the reports point to the decrease in cases, they insist on alerting to the gravity of the more than 800 murders: “It is the continuity of a policy whose acts can constitute crimes against humanity.

The figure reflects “the high level of police lethality in the country, the non-use of force in an exceptional manner and according to the principles of differentiated and progressive use and indicates the absence of a citizen security policy aimed at preserving the life and to cause the least possible physical damage ”, they denounced.

EU in Venezuela

The European Union (EU) on Friday underlined the support from the Venezuelan opposition to send an observation mission to the regional and local elections on 21 November, and welcomed the fact that parties that are not in government have decided to stand for election.

“The entire opposition made international observation a condition for participating in the elections,” said a senior community official who recalled that even opponents Leopoldo López and Juan Guaidó had previously agreed that it was a condition prior to attending, reports the EFE agency.

The Venezuelan opposition, including the sector led by Juan Guaidó, announced a month ago that it would run in regional and local elections after consulting with its grassroots activists who asked to participate, although they assured that the competition would not be “fair or conventional.”.

The political reality in Venezuela is quite complex with regard to the opposition in particular. The unitary platform is the first successful attempt that we have seen in a long time, the sources pointed out.

LM