The Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Heber, has a different accounting of the number of murders that have taken place in August, because his portfolio has counted 31 “and not 41 or 42, as they say out there,” as he stated this Tuesday.
“There are 31 because those killed by the police, suicides and doubtful deaths where there is no element to determine that it was a murder are not included. It is not we who determine, it is the Justice that determines it when there is a doubtful death, “Heber explained at a press conference.
He did accept that “31 homicides is a lot” and says that the ministry is “concerned.” “That’s why we were talking to the chief (of Police) about the deployment he is making in the area where these situations are being repeated,” he added.
Perspective from Rivera
Heber made these statements from Rivera, where he meets other high-ranking government officials, such as the Minister of National Defense, Javier García, and the Foreign Minister, Francisco Bustillo, for a binational meeting with Brazilian peers where they exchanged views on security.
Regarding the crimes in the border department, he asserted, they are something “temporary”, and added: “The leadership assured me that this was temporary and the data is proven. If it is not that there are territorial persecutions of Brazilian gangs that come and kill each other here, we would not be facing an increase in endemic homicides in Rivera”, denying that he sees it as something “endemic”.
