[News] Here’s Your Guide to Understanding Protest Deaths in Venezuela

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Heres-Your-Guide-to-Understanding-Protest-Deaths-in-Venezuela-20170422-0016.html 



  Here’s Your Guide to Understanding Protest Deaths in Venezuela

April 25, 2017
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Headlines about ongoing violence in Venezuela are practically 
inescapable, with over two dozen people dead since opposition-led 
protests aimed at toppling the government began in early April.

Right-wing opposition leaders have attempted to portray the deaths as 
examples of state repression and evidence of the "dictatorship" that 
they are aiming to topple. Mainstream media have by and large echoed 
this version of events, using titles like “Venezuelan Regime Has Blood 
On Its Hands” and “Venezuela's Tiananmen Moment."

Some outlets have even gone as far as claiming the elected government of 
Nicolas Maduro as engaging in “a campaign of state genocide.”

The reality of the situation on the ground, however, demonstrates 
something very different.

Of those killed thus far, three are attributed to state security forces, 
while two of the dead are members of police themselves. The total number 
of dead is significantly bolstered by the eight who were electrocuted as 
they attempted to loot a bakery, while five of those killed were 
expressly connected to opposition protests. On the other hand, 10 of the 
deceased are attributed to right-wing violence.

In addition to the more than two dozen killed, 437 people have been 
injured in the protests, Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega said.

Here’s a breakdown of those killed since the opposition protests began.

*April 6*

1. /Jairo Ortiz/: the 19-year-old student, was shot by transit police 
Officer Rohenluis Leonel Mata in the state of Miranda. Venezuelan police 
immediately detained Mata, who is set to face criminal charges.

*April 10*

2. /Daniel //Queliz/: the 19-year-old college student from Carabobo was 
shot by police while participating in an opposition protest.

3. /Ricarda de Lourdes:/ the 83-year-old woman died at her home in 
Caracas on April 10 from hydrocephalus. When her symptoms began flaring 
earlier that day, she was unable to be transported to a nearby hospital 
because opposition protesters blocked all of the neighborhood’s roads, 
preventing ambulances from picking her up.

*April 11*

4. /Yey Amaro:/ 37-year-old police officer in the state of Lara, was hit 
by a vehicle driven by opposition protesters on April 11 after trying to 
mediate protests in his home state.

5. /Miguel //Colmenares//:/ the 36-year-old opposition supporter from 
Lara died from multiple wounds received after the detonation of 
explosive devices in Barquisimeto, Lara state.

6. /Gruseny////Canelon//:/ the 32-year-old opposition supporter from 
Lara died of organ failure after being shot during an anti-government 
demonstration. Fifteen members of the National Guard have been placed 
under arrest in the incident.

7. /Oliver Villa:/ the 29-year-old digital marketing entrepreneur was 
shot by unidentified assailants on motorbikes in Caracas after evading 
an opposition barricade in the El Paraiso sector of Caracas.

*April 12*

8. /Brayan Principal:/ the 14-year-old resident of the Ali Primera 
Socialist City was shot by opposition protesters after they toppled the 
main gate of the commune.

9. /Carlos Moreno:/ the 17-year-old student was shot in the head while 
in Caracas. Family members say he was not involved in the protest, and 
it is suspected his murder was perpetrated by armed robbers who stole 
his motorcycle.

*April 19*

10. /Niumar////Sanclemente//:/ the 28-year-old sergeant with the 
National Guard was apparently killed by sniper fire in Los Teques, the 
capital of the state of Merida.

11. /Paola Ramirez:/ the 23-year-old college student from Tachira was 
shot while in the vicinity of a demonstration. A member of the 
right-wing Vente Venezuela opposition group is under arrest for the murder.

*April 20*

12. /Kevin Leon:/ the 19-year-old bakery worker in the El Valle district 
of Caracas, was shot by opposition protesters who were vandalizing his 
workplace.

13. /Ramon Martinez:/ the 28-year-old cook who worked in the same bakery 
as Kevin Leon in the El Valle district of Caracas was shot by opposition 
protesters as he tried to protect the store.

14. /Francisco Gonzalez:/ the 34-year-old died during the vandalization 
of the El Valle bakery.

15-22. /Eight were electrocuted/ when they attempted to loot a bakery in 
El Valle, Caracas. Names have not been released nor have the 
circumstances of the electrocution been verified, though there is 
speculation that the bakery had an electrified gate.

23. /Mervin //Guitan//:/ the 26-year-old who worked for a mayor's office 
in Sucre was shot by unidentified gunmen during a protest.

24. /Alberto Rodriguez:/ the 16-year-old died from suffocation from tear 
gas used in El Valle, Caracas.

*April 23*

25. /Almelina//Carrillo/: the 47-year-old was struck in the head with a 
frozen water bottle thrown from a building while walking near a 
pro-government march in Caracas on April 19 and died a few days later.

*April 24*

26. /Jesus Sulbaran/: the 41-year-old criminology student and an 
official in the governor's office in Merida was killed while 
participating in a pro-government demonstration, according to 
Venezuela’s ombudsman.

27. /Renzo //Rodriguez/: the 54-year-old was killed in the state of 
Barinas from a gunshot wound to his chest when he was in the vicinity of 
the mayor's office of the municipality of Barinas.

28. /Orlando //Jhosep/: the 23-year-old died of a gunshot wound during a 
protest in the city of El Tocuyo, Lara state.

29. /Daniel Infante/: the 25-year-old transportation worker was killed 
while participating in a pro-government demonstration, according to 
Venezuela’s ombudsman.

30. /Luis Marquez/: the 52-year-old was shot and killed in the capital 
of the state of Merida while taking part in a pro-government demonstration.

*April 25*

31. /Efrain Sierra/: the 27-year-old lost his life after receiving a 
bullet in the stomach on April 24 as he resisted the theft of his 
motorcycle while passing through an opposition barricade.

Disturbingly, there are also other people whose murders during these 
dates raise concerns about targeted assassinations and possible 
paramilitary activity.

*April 23*

/Esmin Ramirez:/ the Venezuelan trade unionist was killed Sunday in the 
southeastern state of Bolivar after being kidnapped in an act that 
people close to him claim was politically motivated. Ramirez, who was a 
member of the Movement 21 labor syndicate in the state-run iron ore 
producer Ferrominera and part of the PSUV political party in Cachamay, 
was killed in El Rinconcito sector in Guayana City, a city along the 
bank of the Orinoco River in Bolivar state.

/Jackeline Ortega:/ murdered in the greater Caracas area in Santa Lucia 
del Tuy. Ortega was also a member of the PSUV as well as a leader in the 
Local Committee on Supply and Production, known as CLAP, a 
government-created alternative food distribution program.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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