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<h1 class="title">Venezuelan Intelligence Chief Murdered, 11 Protestors
Indicted after Thursday’s Mass Arrests</h1>
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<p class="byline"> By <span class="author">Z.C. Dutka</span> </p>
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<p class="Body">Santa Elena de Uairen, 9<sup>th</sup> May 2014 (<a
href="http://venezuelanalysis.com">Venezuelanalysis.com</a>) -
Yesterday at noon, Rafael Celestino Albino Arteaga, 44, Vargas state
chief of the Venezuelan Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN), was
shot dead by an unidentified male assailant in a shopping mall in the
western city of Maracay.</p>
<p class="Body">Arteaga’s killer, witnesses say, pointed a gun at him
with the apparent intention of robbing him. After Arteaga turned over
all of his possessions, the man shot him twice and then fled.</p>
<p class="Body">This marks the second murder of a Venezuelan
intelligence officer in recent weeks, the first being Eliecer Otaiza,
ex-chief of CIDIP, the national intelligence agency that preceded
SEBIN. Otaiza was found dead on April 27th, and his suspected murderer
(now in custody) had clear political motives, official sources say.</p>
<p class="Body">Authorities believe Arteaga’s murder may have been
premeditated and are currently conducting a full investigation.</p>
<p class="Body">On Thursday, security forces succeeded in disbanding
four of the largest remaining hard-line protest encampments, one of
which blocked transit of a major highway. As protestors clashed with
police, seven were wounded and one policeman, Jorge Colina, 24, was
shot dead by a sniper. Two other police officers were wounded,
seemingly by the same shooter.</p>
<p class="Body">Of the 243 barricaders apprehended, 12 were immediately
released for being underage, 109 were put on probation, 15 were
sentenced to rehabilitation programs for drug use, 47 are still on
trial for reduced probation sentences, and 11 have been indicted.</p>
<p class="Body">The formal accusations of the indicted range from;
illegal bearing of arms, incitement of violence and illicit activity,
manipulation of youths for delinquency, obstruction of public transit,
vandalism of property, trafficking of minor quantities of drugs, and
the detonation of explosive substances.</p>
<p class="Body">While in custody, the protestors were given meals and
sufficient drinking water, and their legal rights were recognized,
according to official sources. Designated paramedics attended to minor
injuries and health concerns of the interned.</p>
<p class="Body">Opposition activists present at the camps criticized
the way the operation was carried out as “violent” and many mainstream
media outlets have reported on the act as a “crackdown”.</p>
<p class="Body">According to Justice Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres,
less than 20% of those detained were active students.</p>
<p class="Body">On Friday the minister expressed outrage and shock at
the death of policeman Jorge Colina.</p>
<p class="Body">“We will search under every stone until Colina’s
murderer is identified,” said Torres. “This country cannot carry on in
constant grief because of the caprices of a group of Venezuelans.”</p>
<p class="Body">The minister insisted the police officer’s death was
not an arbitrary act of violence, but the latest casualty of a greater
conspiracy, largely aimed at toppling the democratically elected
president Nicolas Maduro.</p>
<p class="Body">He pointed at certain opposition leaders who have
seemingly allowed the <em>guarimba</em> (hardline protests and street
barricades) to continue with impunity in the municipalities they
govern, and extremist leader Leopoldo Lopez, who was imprisoned for
inciting “street action” to remove Maduro from power by force. Torres
also alluded to the appearance of even closer political ties.</p>
<p class="Body">“We know that [Caracas mayor Antonio] Ledezma is linked
to “El Aviador” [Rodolfo Pedro Gonzalez Martinez, logistical director
of the <em>guarimba</em> barricades], who the SEBIN captured two days
ago…. Undoubtedly there are conspirators here in Venezuela who have
dedicated themselves to this kind of activity,” Torres said. “I do not
say this with the intention of endangering the current dialogue
underway, but it is necessary these things are discussed.”</p>
<p class="Body">The minister announced his plan to bring before the
opposition alliance, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), evidence of
a conspiracy that has been in the works since 2010.</p>
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