Once again, the de facto government has failed to respond to the questions of two rapporteurs and a United Nations working group regarding 13 cases of arbitrary executions that occurred between 2012 and 2020 at the hands of the National Bolivarian Police (PNB), the Special Actions Force (FAES), the Bureau for Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigations (CICPC), the Bolivarian Service of National Intelligence (SEBIN(, and the National Guard within the framework of citizen security policies, in particular the Operation for the Liberation of the People (OLP), the Safe Homeland Plan and the so-called Humanist Operation for the Liberation of the People (OLHP). While that government tries to show that it is investigating crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, it has also deepened its policy of ignoring the thematic mechanisms of the UN on cases of serious human rights violations and impunity. In particular, the lack of response to the request for information “on the measures adopted to bring to justice all those responsible for the (thirteen) extrajudicial killings or arbitrary deaths” and to “guarantee the determination of individual criminal responsibility, including the responsibility of high-ranking officials, for the aforementioned crimes”.
The rapporteurs and the working group affirm that “the trend regarding the violation of human rights, and in particular concerning extrajudicial killings, has not shown any improvement in recent years but rather a clear deepening” and express their concern that “the institutions responsible for the protection of human rights, such as the Attorney General’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office, do not appear to be conducting prompt, effective, exhaustive, independent, impartial, and transparent investigations into the cases that fall within their jurisdiction, especially when the cases involve state actors. On the one hand, this judicial negligence translates into impunity and, on the other, into the repetition of the transgressions ”.
The request for information published by the UN system on April 16 was not answered within the 60-day period given to the States. It was signed by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is worth noting that the government has received 88 communications from the thematic mechanism since 2011 but has only responded to 39, which means that more than half of the communications have remained without a response. This lack of cooperation has worsened since February 2019 as the Foreign Ministry has responded to only two communications of a total of 19.
The victims of the alleged extrajudicial killings that occurred between 2012 and 2020 are Mario Nicasio Lugo González in 2012; Carlos Jampier Castro Tovar, Darwin Gabriel Rojas Tovar, Roswil Belisario Tovar, and Johandri Antonio Trujillo Núñez in 2016; José Daniel Bruzual Pulido in 2017; Julio Cesar Rangel Novais, Carlos Francisco Rangel Novais, Jesse Gabriel Pérez Chávez, Jondry Daniel Pérez Blanco, and Johander Javier Arai Pérez in 2018; Luis Alfredo Ariza Gamarra in 2019; and José Ángel Infante Díaz in 2020, all of them died at the hands of state security agents.
These deaths occurred within the context of the security plans created and supervised by senior officials of the de facto government. For the rapporteurs and the working group, “these security measures have strengthened and increased the reach of the Venezuelan security apparatus” in particular the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) and its Special Action Forces (FAES), the Bureau for Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigations (CICPC), the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM). “These services have allegedly been responsible for a considerable number of extrajudicial killings as a consequence of the excessive use of force,” affirm the rapporteurs and the working group, for whom “the impunity that seems to benefit those responsible for said deaths is also extremely worrying.”
Finally, the rapporteurs and the working group draw attention to the “obvious difficulties in accessing justice in this type of cases in Venezuela” and point out that one of the main structural obstacles is that the CICPC reports directly to the Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace, which in turn supervises other bodies in charge of security, including the PNB and the FAES, thus creating a conflict of interest and affecting the independence of the investigation. “In addition to this structural conflict of interest in investigative matters, the procedural delays, the refusal of the security forces to provide information, the intimidation against plaintiffs and witnesses, the refusal to grant access to case files, and the reluctance to carry out the necessary procedures to clarify the cases, constitute a worrying trend in the Venezuelan judicial panorama ”, affirm the UN mechanisms.
The detailed account of the thirteen cases reveals not only a pattern of action by the security forces over eight years framed in State security policies but also a pattern of impunity in the actions of the Attorney General’s Office and of the Ombudsman’s Office. The rapporteurs attached to their communication a summary of the international instruments and principles violated by the Venezuelan State.
The following are the questions submitted and unanswered on the thirteen cases of alleged extrajudicial killings:
1.Please provide additional information, data or other comments concerning the allegations mentioned in this communication.
2. Please provide information on the official statistics of deaths due to ‘resistance to authority’ in the context of security operations, with disaggregated information on the number of deceased officers.
3. Please provide information regarding the factual and legal basis of the arrests, detentions, and charges brought against the aforementioned persons and explain how they are compatible with intentional human rights law.
4. Please provide information on the investigations into the alleged extrajudicial killings or arbitrary deaths of Messrs. Mario Nicasio Lugo González, Carlos Jampier Castro Tovar, Darwin Gabriel Rojas Tovar, Roswil Belisario Tovar, Johandri Antonio Trujillo Núñez, José Daniel Bruzual Pulido, Julio Cesar Rangel Novais, Carlos Francisco Rangel Novais, Jesse Gabriel Pérez Chávez, Jondry Daniel Pérez Blanco, Johander Javier Arai Pérez, Luis Alfredo Ariza Gamarra, and José Ángel Infante Diaz, including the measures adopted to guarantee that said investigations are carried out following intentional standards (i.e. promptly, thoroughly, effectively, independently, impartially, and transparently).
5. Please provide information on the measures adopted to bring to justice all those responsible for the extrajudicial killings or arbitrary deaths of Messrs. Mario Nicasio Lugo González, Carlos Jampier Castro Tovar, Darwin Gabriel Rojas Tovar, Roswil Belisario Tovar, Johandri Antonio Trujillo Núñez, José Daniel Bruzual Pulido, Julio Cesar Rangel Novais, Carlos Francisco Rangel Novais, Jesse Gabriel Pérez Chávez, Jondry Daniel Pérez Blanco, Johander Javier Arai Pérez, Luis Alfredo Ariza Gamarra, and José Ángel Infante Diaz and guarantee the determination of individual criminal responsibility, including the responsibility of high-ranking officials, for the aforementioned offenses.
6. Please indicate what measures have been adopted to guarantee the right to truth, justice and reparation for the relatives of Messrs. Mario Nicasio Lugo González, Carlos Jampier Castro Tovar, Darwin Gabriel Rojas Tovar, Roswil Belisario Tovar, Johandri Antonio Trujillo Núñez, José Daniel Bruzual Pulido, Julio Cesar Rangel Novais, Carlos Francisco Rangel Novais, Jesse Gabriel Pérez Chávez, Jondry Daniel Pérez Blanco, Johander Javier Arai Pérez, Luis Alfredo Ariza Gamarra, and José Ángel Infante Diaz.
7. Please provide the number of protection measures adopted for the relatives who have been victims of harassment by security forces due to the complaints they have filed.
8. Please provide information on the measures adopted to guarantee that international human rights standards are complied with in instances similar to actions by the public force.
The full text of the communication in Spanish can be consulted HERE.
The complete systematization of communications sent to Venezuela by the thematic mechanisms of the United Nations can be consulted HERE.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
