They denounce "extrajudicial executions" at the hands of Maduro's elite armed body

Human rights groups claim that the Special Action Force (FAES) by Nicolás Maduro They have been a cause of concern since its creation in 2017: it is a group of 1300 armed members, composed of Russian and Chinese teams, which has already killed more than 100 since August in the United States. poor neighborhoods.

According to a report released by the human rights group Provea on January 26, Maduro sent this elite body to the poor neighborhoods of Caracas and other cities participating in the community. saying "Operation of People's Liberation" in 2015 to eliminate criminals. which, according to human rights groups and slum dwellers, have resulted in an increase in extrajudicial executions.

While Maduro fought against tougher US sanctions and Western support for opposition leader Juan Guaidó, FAES proclaimed his loyalty to the government. "These are not easy moments, they are extremely difficult moments (…) moments when we have to show who are the most faithful and who are not," said the president. Commander of FAES, Rafael Bastardo, in a speech disclosed on the group's Instagram account.

FAES added that the many recent reports on its criminal activities in favor of the Chavist dictatorship were "false news" broadcast by the right-wing opposition. "We are fighting against the criminals who lash out at our communities all who fear the FAES, it's because it's criminal," they added. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab said on Friday that the authorities would investigate any officer who executed, but no FAES soldier was arrested.

This weekend, FAES members raided the José Felix Ribas neighborhood of Caracas after their residents protested what they considered a dictatorship and demanded Maduro's resignation. As reported Reuters citing witnesses, the troops stormed the streets while firing while people were running away shouting "they are here."

Snipers climbed onto the roofs of modest homes and some residents hid under their beds, Reuters reported. According to the article published by the same agency, at dawn, the FAES had killed about 10 people, taking away their corpses and a dozen inmates. Residents said the agents returned to the neighborhood, sowing fear in the poor community, which was once a stronghold of support for Maduro and Hugo Chávez.

According to human rights groups, the violence of the Venezuelan government security forces has further contributed to the high homicide rate in the country, one of the highest in the world. From 2010 to 2017, the proportion of homicides committed by uniformed bodies increased from 4 to 27%, according to Keymer Ávila, professor of criminology at the Central University of Venezuela, who estimates that he increased more last year.

The Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, an NGO, attributes to the security forces 43 dead during demonstrations and raids since January 22 and says that he is processing data from several cases. According to Reuters, authorities have already arrested more than 900 protesters since Jan. 21, according to human rights groups, data on which the government of Nicolás Maduro remains silent.

There are days, the Interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó oppositionHe denounced the elite security forces who identified themselves as FAES officers who had come to his home to intimidate his family and blamed the government of Nicolás Maduro: "They were looking for information, the goal is obvious (…) I say: do not cross the red line, "said Guaidó. "It is totally false" that agents are "in search of the family of MP Guaidó", published on Twitter by the national police, to which the FAES belongs.