The Commission for Human Rights of the State of Zulia (Codhez) published the July 2020 Bulletin on the general situation of human rights in Zulia, which focuses on the documentation of violent incidents involving officers from the security forces of the Venezuelan State that caused the death of 377 people from January to June 2020.

The data, resulting from monitoring the region’s media, show that both police violence and the potentially illicit deaths associated with it tend to increase. For Codhez, this is evidence of the Venezuelan State’s transgression of the basic principle of respect for the rights to life and personal integrity, and the contravention of two of the highest values enshrined in its legal system, the protection of life and the pre-eminence of human rights, provided in article 2 of the Constitution.

In Codhez’s 2019 Annual Report on the general situation of human rights in Zulia, 497 violent incidents and 657 deaths from police violence were registered. In the first half of 2019, the number of violent incidents reached 187 cases. Meanwhile, during the same period of 2020, 262 violent incidents were verified, which translates into an increase of 40.1 percent. Regarding the number of deaths caused by the State security forces, 250 were registered in the first half of last year, while 377 deaths were reported in the first six months of 2020, an increase of 50.8 percent.

Incidents involving police violence

Regarding the distribution of violent incidents by county, Maracaibo, San Francisco, Cabimas, and La Cañada de Urdaneta exhibit the highest figures for police violence. 119 violent incidents took place in Maracaibo (45.59%), 33 in San Francisco (12.64%), 22 in Cabimas (8.43%), and 19 in La Cañada de Urdaneta (7.28%). The counties of Baralt, Colón, and Jesús Enrique Lossada, accounted for 10 violent incidents each, between January and June 2020.

Eight out of 21 counties in Zulia exceeded the mark of 10 deaths from police violence in the first half of 2020, with the highest number concentrated in Maracaibo (158 deaths or 41.91 percent of the total). 42 deaths were reported in San Francisco (11.14%); 37 in Cabimas (9.81%); 25 in Colón (6.63%); 24 in La Cañada de Urdaneta (6.37%); 15 in Jesús Enrique Lossada (3.98%); 14 in Baralt (3.71%); and 11 in Miranda (2.92%). Only two counties did not report any death from police violence during the period, Almirante Padilla and Francisco Javier Pulgar counties.

 Excessive use of public force

In the July bulletin, Codhez highlights that one of the basic obligations of the Venezuelan State is to respect the right to life. In consequence, whenever people’s lives are threatened and the security forces operate under questionable circumstances, the state must determine the limit of the use of the public force and strengthen its commitment to the respect for human rights. 

The Codhez bulletin highlights that no security officer died during any of the incidents involving police violence registered up to June 2020, most of them classified as alleged armed clashes by the authorities. Considering the recounts of the events, they could have been the consequence of the excessive and unjustified use of public force.

According to the records, the highest number of deaths, 191 or 50.66 percent of cases, is attributable to federal security forces. On the other hand, regional security forces killed 122 people (32.36%), while local police forces caused the death of 43 people (11.41%). Likewise, 14 people (3.71%) were killed in joint actions of mixed commissions. In seven cases, the police force responsible for the death could not be identified. The national security force responsible for the highest number of deaths from police violence in Zulia was the Special Action Force (FAES) with 67 (17.77%), the Bureau for Scientific, Criminal, and Forensic Investigations (CICPC) with 54 (14.32%), and the Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping National Command (CONAS) with 33 ( 8.75%).

Regarding regional security forces, the Zulia State Criminal Investigation Service (SIPEZ) killed 88 people (23.34%), Zulia State Police (CPBEZ) killed 17 (4.51%), and the Special Response Team (ERE) killed 16 (4.24%). Meanwhile, the local security force that caused the highest number of deaths was Urdaneta P.D. (10 deaths or 2.65% of the total), Miranda P.D. (3 or 0.80%), and Cabimas P.D. (3 or 0.80%). It should be noted that the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) killed 18 people (4.77%), the Canine Squad killed 14 (3.71%), and mixed commissions killed 14 others (3.71%). For its part, the Police Association of the Maracaibo metropolitan area caused the death of 8 people (2.12%).

The Toas Island Incident

Despite being outside the timeframe covered by the Codhez bulletin, the non-governmental organization highlights the case of the murder of Joe Luis Albornoz, an 18-year-old young man who died from shots fired by officers of the Bolivarian National Guard, according to witnesses.

The young man was protesting after the Coast Guard and GNB officers refused to allow the sale of fuel that had been recently supplied to the area. The incident took place in the Almirante Padilla county, one of the two counties that did not report any death from police violence in the first half of the year. To date, no further details are known about the investigations carried out into this case, nor a public statement from the authorities.

Zulia registers the highest number of fatalities due to Covid-19 among health workers

On the other hand, Codhez has been monitoring the crisis of the national public health system amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, inadequate infrastructure and shortages of supplies and sanitary implements persist, evidencing the repeated neglect of the Venezuelan State’s obligation to guarantee the right to health and access to high-quality health services in the region.

Zulia registered 3,149 cases of Covid-19 infections as of late July, an increase of 204.84% from the June figures (1,033). 52 people have been reported to have died from the virus, even though the number does not include the deaths of infected health personnel. For Codhez, this situation is particularly striking as it shows that the measures implemented within the framework of the State of Alarm and the so-called radical quarantine have not been effective in reducing the number of infections.

Regarding the situation of the health personnel, 18 doctors, two nurses, and a surgical technologist have died in Zulia as of July 2020, out of 34 health workers who have died in Venezuela due to Covid-19. This makes Zulia the region with the highest number of fatalities among health personnel.

Final comments

In the July bulletin, Codhez highlights that the rise in police violence due to excessive use of public force is not an isolated phenomenon but a part of “a continuous, constant, and increasing process of deaths attributable to the security forces, which constitutes a systematic violation of the right to life ”.

For Codhez, the design and implementation of security policies by the Venezuelan State in compliance with the constitution and international regulations on the use of public force are urgent, as well as the strengthening of the training and education programs for police and military officers.

Also, Codhez reiterates the State’s obligation to assume a proactive attitude regarding the investigations of these deaths in an independent, exhaustive, impartial, and transparent way to determine criminal liabilities. This is a pending matter of the State before thousands of victims who deserve an explanation for the events that led to the death of their loved ones.

You can download the Spanish version of the July 2020 Bulletin on the general situation of human rights in Zulia HERE.

Translated by: José Rafael Medina