The Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV) reported in its annual report that in 2022 there were 1,370 disappearances, that is, 16% less than in 2021, when 1,634 were recorded, which represents an average of four disappeared persons per day.
After the December season, Lizbeth Zurita, a native of Bolívar state, continues with the hope of finding her son, of whom she lost all trace in July 2019. She told The nation that at that time, he had planned to return from Colombia to Venezuela, by the sides of Puerto Santander, that was the last he heard from him.
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«My son is called Enisael Job Contreras Zurita. At the time of his disappearance he was 25 years old. He was born in Puerto Ordaz, in February 1995. The last time I heard from him, he was in Cúcuta, after returning from the Inírida mines, in the Guainía municipality of Colombia. On July 28, 2019, my son would return to Venezuela through Puerto Santander. Since then I have not heard from Enisael. I haven’t had any concrete news,” he said.
He commented that he has denounced the incident before the authorities of Colombia and Venezuela, that he has even visited hospitals and morgues, but everything has been in vain.
“They have told me many things about his whereabouts: that he is on a farm, that the irregular groups have him, that he is in New York, that he is with the Black Eagles, that he is homeless, that they killed him, in short… The latest What they have told me is that it is in Tibú, in the North of Santander, “he explained.
Zurita asked those who know of his whereabouts, or if he is recruited or kidnapped, to take pity on her, and send her proof of life.
«I want to find my son, whether he is on the street or is recruited, if he is recruited. I would like them to at least give me a sign. May their hearts soften and give me a sign, a call. I am your mother and I want to know that you are okay. It is so inhuman not to know of a son. A person cannot disappear just like that, without leaving any trace.
In his eagerness to find him and with the support of family and friends, he created a page on the social network Facebook, called “Esperanza de madre” (disappeared), which has more than 40,000 members. «But for this I have not received any sign of my son either. I just want this nightmare to end as soon as possible.”
As in this case, many Venezuelan families suffer from the absence of one of their loved ones, whether inside or outside the country.
1,370 disappearances in 2022
The Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV) highlights in its annual report that 1,370 disappearances were registered in 2022, 16% less than in 2021 -when 1,634 were counted-, which represents an average of four disappeared persons per day.
“We have a significant disappearance rate in the country (…) 3.75 people disappear every day, we can say that almost four people a day, suddenly, they disappear, it is not known where they are,” said Roberto Briceño León, director of the NGO.
Briceño León explained that this allows for a “broader overview” of what “may be happening in the country.”
He asserted that it is “difficult” to know what happens in these cases, despite the fact that the relatives of the victims file a complaint with the police forces.
He emphasized that the highest incidence of disappearances occurred in Caracas and in the coastal state of La Guaira, without specifying the figures.
Briceño-León also highlighted the mining state of Bolívar – where military officials found at least two mass graves this year – which, in his opinion, provides “clues as to what may be happening with disappearances in the country.”
The OVV affirmed in its annual report that Venezuela remains among the three “most violent” countries in Latin America in 2022, if the death rate is taken into account, which includes categories such as “police intervention”, with 1,240 cases, “deaths by investigation”, with 5,799, homicides, with 2,328, in addition to disappearances.
“The estimate we can make is that it is in second place, behind Honduras, but that will depend on the final results of Honduras,” he specified. (Raúl Márquez).
With information from La Nación
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