[News] Venezuela: Six Chavista Militants Killed in Fresh Rural Violence

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14607


  Venezuela: Six Chavista Militants Killed in Fresh Rural Violence

By Ricardo Vaz - July 30, 2019
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Caracas, July 30, 2018 (venezuelanalysis.com 
<http://venezuelanalysis.com/>) - Six activists from the grassroots 
Revolutionary Bolivar and Zamora Current (CRBZ 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14079>) were assassinated in 
Barinas State on Saturday.

The victims, including one pregnant woman, were part of the so-called 
Hugo Chavez Popular Defense Brigades organized by the CRBZ in Barinas, 
Tachira, and other states regularly plagued by landowner violence 
against campesinos.

No information is yet known about the assailants, with the CRBZ claiming 
in a statement 
<http://www.crbz.org/masacre-en-barinas-contra-militantes-revolucionarios-comunicado-de-la-corriente/> 
that they had “military training.”

“We want to denounce to the country and the world the murder of six 
comrades, presumably by mercenaries paid by right-wing landowners in the 
region,” the group declared, before adding that the six would remain 
present “in every battle and in every day of struggle.”

The incident reportedly took place on Saturday morning as the Chavista 
militants were repairing a motorbike in the Ticoporo Reserve, Barinas State.

The killings sparked immediate outrage and shows of solidarity from 
Venezuelan and international activists alike, with participants in the 
Sao Paulo Forum <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14606> demanding justice.

“On behalf of the Patria Grande movement [in Argentina] I want to 
express my solidarity and repudiate this action of landowners who want 
to subjugate campesinos,” said Silvana Broggi during the meeting 
currently taking place in Caracas.

Chavista popular movements likewise voiced their solidarity and cry for 
justice in a Twitter storm, with the hashtag “no more Chavista killings” 
(#NoMásChavistasAsesinados) becoming the top trend in Venezuela on 
Monday evening.

For his part, National Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello 
said that paramilitary violence in the countryside was not something new 
and demanded an investigation into the assassinations.

“We strongly condemn this violence and demand a thorough investigation 
to find the culprits,” the Chavista leader said on Sunday, vowing that 
the crimes would not go unpunished. The Attorney General’s Office has 
yet to issue a public statement, though the CICPC investigative police 
has appeared on scene to gather evidence.

The Venezuelan countryside has seen a recent increase in targeted 
killings <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14158> of campesinos in the 
context of escalating disputes over land rights. Landowner violence was 
one of the issues driving the Admirable Campesino March 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/13974> in July 2018 which saw 
dozens of campesinos march over 400 kilometers on foot to demand a 
meeting with President Maduro in order to change the state’s rural 
policies. A high-profile televised meeting 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13975> took place, and Maduro ordered 
the creation of commissions to resolve land disputes and end impunity 
for rural violence.

However, campesinos have repeatedly denounced that little 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14104> to no progress has been made, 
with several new campesino murders taking place since then. The 
continued setbacks <https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14598> have 
led campesino activists to return to Caracas and set up a vigil 
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14581> at the Land Institute to 
demand answers from authorities.

According to campesino groups, since the inauguration of Venezuela’s 
revolutionary land reform law in 2001, over 300 small farmers have been 
murdered by hired guns in the employ of large landowners. While in some 
cases the assassins have been convicted of their crimes, impunity 
continues with respect to the role of landed elites financing the killings.

/Edited by Lucas Koerner from Caracas. /

-- 
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863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
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