Venezuela death squads kill young men, stage scenes, UN report says
- Families describe masked men dressed in black breaking into houses, taking belongings and assaulting women
- Deaths ascribed to criminals ‘resisting arrest’ – many of which appeared to be extrajudicial executions – numbered 5,287 last year
Venezuelan security forces are sending death squads to murder young men and stage the scenes to make it look like the victims resisted arrest, the United Nations said in a report issued by its human rights chief on Thursday.
Government figures showed that deaths ascribed to criminals resisting arrest numbered 5,287 last year and 1,569 by May 19 this year. The UN report said many of them appeared to be extrajudicial executions.
Families of 20 men had described how masked men dressed in black from Venezuela’s Special Action Forces (FAES) had arrived in black pickups without licence plates. In the accounts, the death squads broke into houses, took belongings and assaulted women and girls, sometimes stripping them naked.
“They would separate young men from other family members before shooting them,” the report said.
“In every case, witnesses reported how FAES manipulated the crime scene and evidence. They would plant arms and drugs and fire their weapons against the walls or in the air to suggest a confrontation and to show the victim had ‘resisted authority’.”
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet visited Venezuela last month and will present the report to the UN Human Rights Council on Friday.