Amnesty International denounces 'endemic armed violence' in Venezuela

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According to A, "the policies and actions of the Government criminalize and kill young men in a situation of poverty, in a growing context of insecurity in the country."

 

Amnesty International (AI) has denounced that in Venezuela there is "endemic armed violence" that has led to an increase in extrajudicial executions practiced by the State and that is especially directed against young people in vulnerable situations.

"The policies and actions of the Government criminalize and kill young men in poverty, in a growing context of insecurity in the country and desperation of the po[CENSORED]tion," said the director of the organization in Spain, Esteban Beltrán, at a conference of press in Buenos Aires.

Beltrán has presented the report "This is not life: Citizen security and the right to life in Venezuela", which shows the violations of human rights and the repression exercised by the State of that country against the most vulnerable po[CENSORED]tion.

As he has said, approximately 55% of the 21,752 homicides committed in 2016 were against people between 15 and 30 years old, a trend that has been maintained for several years.

"Those who die are young in depressed and poor areas" who are seen as "enemies to eradicate, criminals," and do so in a context of "enormous" insecurity, since, in 2016 alone, between 65,000 and 87,000 Venezuelans were victims of armed violence in the country.

The organization pointed out that, since 2016, 11 of the 19 citizen security ministers in the country have been members of the armed forces, a "military logic" that, for Beltrán, has led to "arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances."