The mayor of Valencia, Julio Fuenmayor, reported that 15 individuals have been detained for the acts of vandalism that have occurred in the city in recent days.
In a press conference he said that seven police stations and a FarmaValencia, which sells medicines at low prices, were burned.
“The fascist and terrorist gang members burned and destroyed the Valencia Municipal Police (PMV) module, located on Aránzazu Avenue, Cancha Ruíz Pineda, where they also affected merchants in the area of the Miguel Peña parish,” he said.
Fuenmayor said that the police stations on Lara Avenue, Plaza Bolívar in Miguel Peña and in Hugo Chávez Park in El Socorro were also destroyed.
“One of them, recently inaugurated with a video surveillance system. The vandal groups, taking orders from the leaders of the extreme right, also committed criminal acts in the Candelaria police station, which was burned and looted, and they tried to destroy radio patrol units of the Santa Rosa police station,” he said.
He said that they also completely destroyed FarmaValencia, located in the Santa Rosa parish and which is part of an agreement between the Mayor’s Office of Valencia and the Unified Pharmaceutical Care System (SUAF).
“These criminals, paid by the coup plotters, sought to create chaos and anxiety by blocking main roads and highways in the city, burning tires and throwing incendiary substances, preventing the free movement of pedestrians and vehicles,” he said.
Fuenmayor said that the detainees, who have been placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, have criminal records for various crimes.
“We are currently searching for the masterminds and territorial operatives behind these violent acts,” he said.