Venezuela intelligence chief accused of rights abuses
July 1, 2017
Venezuela's chief of intelligence has been summoned to court on suspicion of committing "grave and systemic human rights violations." Hours after the announcement, he was promoted to chief of the nation's military.
Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz is investigating numerous human rights abuses under President Nicolas Maduro's regimeImage: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Llano
Advertisement
The office of Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz on Friday said it was investigating a number of allegations, including arbitrary raids and illegitimate detentions during the country's wave of anti-government protests.
In a statement, it said National Intelligence Director Gustavo Gonzalez had been ordered to appear before the body to respond to the charges early next week.
"The Public Ministry will continue safeguarding the protection and defense of Venezuelans' human rights," the statement said.
Almost 80 people have been killed in near-daily protests in crisis-wracked Venezuela Image: Reuters/I. Alvarado
A few hours later, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Gonzalez was being promoted to leader of the military.
Of those instances, "Twenty-three of the deceased persons and 853 of the injured have been attributed to police or military officials," according to the attorney general's office. The ministry said it was conducting some 450 investigations into alleged human rights violations during the protests, including cases of people who remain in prison, despite court orders that they be set free.
Protests paralyze Venezuela's society
DW talked to Venezuelan journalist and photographer Ivan Reyes whose images highlight the stories of the people marching against the government.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Journalism born of need
"I’d been working as a journalist for a year when the protests started in 2014. Many independent media have come into existence in the last two years due to the government censorship, and that's how I became a reporter," Ivan Reyes told DW. He started capturing the new wave of riots on a daily basis at the end of March.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Welcome to the stone age
The ruling by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which took away immunity from opposition parliamentarians, set off a surge of protests paralyzing the country. Although the protests were peaceful at first, government forces soon started throwing stones into the crowds. "Seriously, the police were given stones! This man, Lino Rivera, was hit by one on April 4," Reyes said.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Highway to hell
The marches take place all over Caracas every day, but they usually end on the city highways. This photo shows two officers of the national guard shooting tear gas grenades into the lines of protesters. "The projectiles should be shot above people’s heads - so the international laws says," says Reyes. "But the armed forces shoot straight into the demonstrators."
Image: Ivan Reyes
"We are all Juan"
Juan Pablo Pernalete, 20, died after being hit by a projectile on April 26. The death of the student of Universidad Metropolitana triggered angry protests in the following days. "People were chanting 'Todos somos Juan! Todos somos Juan!'" ("We are all Juan") Reyes told DW. Congressmen Miguel Pizarro and Carlos Paparoni and the Governor of Miranda Henrique Capriles all came to pay tribute.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Evasive action
Defense has become the key element for survival. "The people seem to be organized better every day," says Reyes. Against the wishes of the protest leaders, several groups have started using DIY weapons and even Molotov cocktails against the government forces, as seen in this photo. "It’s a battle they can’t win," says Reyes.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Heros of the day
"Jesús was one of those injured in the demonstrations on May 4. He was gasping and stuttering after he got hit in the head. People in the crowd spotted him and carried him to one side where paramedics gave him first aid. The members of Primeros Auxilios UCV are the real heroes of history," Reyes said of the group of doctors who go to the protests every day to help the injured.
Image: Ivan Reyes
The wrath of the women scorned
On May 6, a women’s protest against the regime was organized by Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, Venezuela's opposition party. The march wasn’t allowed to reach its destination, the Ministry of Justice, as they were halted by female officers of the national police. Former politician María Corina Machado and the student president of Universidad Central de Venezuela were among the protesters.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Ode to Venezuela
This image shot by Reyes went viral right after it was published by the author on May 8. The picture is one of the strongest snapshots from the Venezuelan protests, showing a young man walking down a road playing the Venezuelan anthem. "I don’t see the protests ending soon," said Reyes. "Let’s see which side gets tired first."
Image: Ivan Reyes
8 images1 | 8
The allegations against Gonzalez came one day after similar charges were leveled against Antonio Benavides Torres, the former commander of the country's National Guard who, until June, had been responsible for maintaining order during the protests.
Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami on Friday threw his support behind the two officials, describing the allegations against "two worthy Venezuelans, two exemplary men," as "slanderous." Speaking on state broadcaster VTV, he instead accused the attorney general of leading a coup against the government.
Maduro has vowed to rewrite the constitutionImage: Reuters/Handout: Miraflores Palace
Widening rift
Ortega Diaz, a former Maduro ally, has emerged as one of the government's most high profile critics in recent months. Tensions have continued to escalate since March, when she contested a Supreme Court decision that dissolved the opposition-controlled National Assembly. She has also challenged Maduro's bid to rewrite the constitution and pushed for charges to be laid against officers responsible for deaths during the protests.
"This is yet another step against the democratic institutions and autonomy of the Venezuelan public prosecutor," Diego Garcia Sayan, the United Nation's special investigator on the independence of judges and lawyers, said Friday.
Opposition protesters in Venezuela are calling for fresh elections and an end to the economic and political crisis gripping their country. Maduro has pledged to solve the upheaval by convoking a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. An election is scheduled to take place later this month, although polls indicate it has scant public support.
