Jun 29, 2019

The organization Control Ciudadano (Citizen Control) condemns in the strongest terms the murder of Lieutenant Commander Rafael Acosta Arévalo, who died at 01:00 today June 29 at the Dr. Vicente Salías Sanoja Army Military Hospital, of Fort Tiuna in Caracas-Venezuela, product of the brutal torture to which he was subjected for a week since his arrest by State agents on June 21, at the Buena Ventura Mall in Guarenas, Miranda State.

Lt Cdr Rafael Acosta Arévalo dies being innocent because since his arrest he was never formally imputed by the Venezuelan State who, in violation of the most elementary constitutional guarantees of due process, tried to present him before the Third Military Court of Control, where Captain (National Guard) Maikel Amezquita Pio is in charge. On June 28, 8 days after his capture, such were the grave conditions of Lt Cdr Rafael that the judge urgently ordered his immediate transfer to the nearest hospital, a few meters from the Martial Court itself in Fuerte Tiuna.

Information verified by Control Ciudadano, alongside the lawyers of the victim, and the doctors Alonso Medina Roa and Alonso Medina Díaz, revealed that his relatives are still waiting for the required autopsy outside of the Bello Monte Morgue in Caracas at this time.

On June 20, Control Ciudadano referred to how the military violates human rights in Venezuela, even against members of the Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, FANB (National Armed Forces), expressly stating before the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michele Bachelet:

The two main intelligence bodies in the country, the Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar DGCIM (Directorate of Military Counterintelligence) and the Servicio Boliviariano de Inteligencia Nacional SEBIN (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service) operate as detention centers, which means, not only do they monitor, but detain and hold people in captivity without any judicial control to fabricate criminal records against them, to their convenience, which are even shown on state television.

Rocío San Miguel, President of Control Ciudadano, considers that “the accusations made by Jorge Rodríguez and Diosdado Cabello Rondón, through the national public media system against Lieutenant Commander Rafael Acosta Arévalo, exposing alleged evidence that framed him for crimes, without due judicial control and without ever having presented him to a court, are acts that constitute state terrorism, which have resulted in the murder of this military member.”

San Miguel adds, “The murder of Captain Acosta Arévalo, due to serious torture committed by the National Armed Forces, clearly reflects the reach of impunity with which the State intelligence organs operate and the moral and institutional degradation that has permeated in the FANB. We already knew that the military tortured their fellow FANB detainees, now we also know that they are killed.”

Control Ciudadano demands of the Venezuelan State an immediate investigation that allows judging, degrading and expelling the guilty from the FANB for serious human rights violations. This includes the superiors who authorized the prolonged detention of Lt Cdr Rafael Acosta Arévalo without judicial control, allowed prolonged torture against him, and allowed his murder, while alleging incriminating acts were reported against him by the national system of public media, without being charged by a court of control the facts attributed to him publicly and communicationally by high state officials.

Finally, Control Ciudadano extends its most heartfelt words of condolences to his widow Mrs. Waleswka Acosta, his children, and other relatives. We embrace them in their pain.

RSM.-