A report from the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to Venezuela documented that military officials received prior instructions to violently repress the protests that would break out after the presidential elections of July 28, 2024, which led to the death of protesters in Maracay, Aragua state.
According to the report, cited by Infobaethe response of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) and the Army was not intended to deter or control riots, but rather to cause deaths. “According to a Cicpc member cited by sources interviewed for the report, the perpetrators did not seek to cause injury, but to kill”says the UN document.
The protests occurred in rejection of the results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) on the night of July 28. The next day, July 29, an intense demonstration was recorded in the vicinity of the vial of the San Jacinto obelisk, in Maracay, which lasted until late at night.
The balance was tragic: six protesters died from gunshot wounds to vital areas of the body. The Mission determined that “in all cases, the victims suffered gunshot wounds in vital areas,” which reinforces the conclusion of a lethal and indiscriminate use of force.
The first deceased was Rancés Daniel Yzarra Bolívarwho was near the newspaper parking lot The Aragüeño when he was shot in the chest. Other victims identified were Anthony Moya, Gabriel Ramos, Andrés Ramírez, Jesús Tovar and Jesús Medinawho died in front of the main entrance of the Army Parachute Brigade.
An independent forensic analysis conducted by the organization Physicians for Human Rights concluded that Jesús Tovar’s injuries “are consistent with the pattern of wounds from a shotgun,” the GNB’s usual weapon, fired with large buckshot ammunition at a distance of between one and ten meters.
Previously planned military operation
The UN report, reviewed in a report by journalist Sebastiana Barráez published in Infobaeindicates that before the elections the military received orders to prepare for inevitable protests. “Since before the elections we were ordered to prepare because there would be protests, which is why I know that our superiors knew that fraud was going to be committed,” an officer declared to Infobae.
Since the afternoon of July 29, two Immediate Response Groups (IRG) of the GNB, equipped with shotguns, tear gas and a VN4 armored vehiclewere deployed in the area. Members of the GNB, the Army and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) were stationed both inside and outside the Parachute Brigade.
The Mission documented that, after launching tear gas without prior warning, the security forces responded with shotgun fire against the protesters. “GNB officials and Army soldiers responded with shots (…) creating chaos due to gas smoke and multiple detonations,” the report states.
The investigation identified a chain of command headed by Nicolas Maduroas commander in chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces. Also included are the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino Lópezand senior regional commanders of the GNB and the Army in Aragua.
Among the officers named is Orlando Ramón Romero Bolívarthen commander of the REDI Central, who was later promoted to major general and commanding general of the Bolivarian Militia, and sanctioned on November 27, 2024 by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for his participation in post-election repression.
Inertia of the Public Ministry
Despite the magnitude of the events, the Public Ministry focused its investigations solely on the death of the first sergeant of the GNB José Antonio Torrents Blanco. Of the seven registered victims, only their case has an individual file, while the deaths of the protesters remain without substantial progress.
The Fact Finding Mission indicated that, until the closing of its report, no progress has been reported in the investigations into the possible responsibility of the State security forces in the deaths of the civilians.
The report concludes that the repression registered in Maracay constitutes a serious violation of human rights and reinforces the allegations of systematic use of lethal violence by the Venezuelan State against the civilian population after the electoral process of July 28.
