Venezuela's army death squads kill thousands — UN
A UN report has detailed the extrajudicial executions of thousands of young men by special forces. The report says that the death squads are carrying out President Maduro's strategy for neutralizing political opponents.
Venezuelan security forces have been sending death squads to commit extrajudicial killings of young men, according to a United Nations report released on Thursday. The crime scenes are then staged to make it look like the victims were resisting arrest.
Caracas has said that about 5,287 people died last year when they refused to be detained by officers, and that this has been the case for a further 1,569 through the middle of May this year. However, the UN report suggests that many of these deaths were actually extrajudicial executions.
The report relays the accounts of 20 families, who say that masked men dressed in black from the Special Actions Forces (FAES) arrived at their homes in black vehicles without license plates. They then broke into their houses, assaulted the women and girls and stole belongings.
"They would separate young men from other family members before shooting them," the report said.
"In every case, witnesses reported how FAES manipulated the crime scene and evidence. They would plant arms and drugs and fire their weapons against the walls or in the air to suggest a confrontation and to show the victim had 'resisted authority.'"
Read more: EU sees sharp rise in asylum applications from Venezuela
Venezuela calls report 'biased'
According to the report, the deaths were an integral part of President Nicolas Maduro's campaign of "neutralizing, repressing and criminalizing political opponents and people critical of the government."
Venezuela said the report "privileges negative testimonies to the extreme, while hiding or minimizing measures adopted to advance human rights." It added that the research was "not objective or impartial."
Maduro's government went on to call the document "openly biased" for not also addressing visits to hospitals, jails, and medicine and food distribution centers by UN observers.
"There are countless inaccuracies, errors, facts taken out of context and false assertions," the government said.
Venezuela has been gripped for years by a humanitarian and political crisis, brought on by Maduro's economic policies, power grabs, and declining oil revenues. Maduro has blamed the crisis on US sanctions aimed at forcing Maduro to resign.
es/amp (AP, Reuters)
Every evening, DW sends out a selection of the day's news and features. Sign up here.
DW recommends
German ambassador allowed to return to Venezuela
Expelled from Venezuela in March for greeting opposition leader and interim president Juan Guaido at the airport, German Ambassador Daniel Kriener has been given permission by Caracas to return. (02.07.2019)
Venezuela accused of killing naval officer
Security forces loyal to President Nicolas Maduro arrested naval officer Rafael Acosta Arevalo last month. Twelve countries from across the Americas have called his reported death an "assassination." (01.07.2019)
Related Subjects United Nations (UN), The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Venezuela
Keywords Venezuela, FAES, extrajudicial killing, Nicolas Maduro, United Nations
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3LbGV
Record German debt due to pandemic, but less than expected 1h ago
Russia vows to complete Nord Stream 2 despite new US sanctions 3h ago
Coronavirus: Bavarian court overturns statewide open-air alcohol ban 4h ago
Russia shrugs off sanctions, rejects global calls for Navalny's release 4h ago
Thailand: Woman handed record 43-year sentence for defaming monarchy 4h ago
DW News on Facebook 11.07.2017
Follow @dwnews on Twitter 11.07.2017