Pares Foundation blamed Venezuelan authorities for violence during elections

• The Colombian organization’s report revealed that during the presidential elections of July 28, 82 violent incidents were recorded, which left a total of 129 victims | Main photo: EFE/Rayner Peña

Colombia’s Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (PARES) revealed on August 13 that during the July 28 election in Venezuela, 82 violent incidents occurred with 129 victims, of which more than 91% were perpetrated by Venezuelan state entities.

Pares was founded in April 2013 and its objective is focused on “strengthening the social rule of law and civil society, with the aim of contributing to the deepening of democracy and the generation of alternatives for social equity and development.”

Pares, among other things, has been in charge of educating people in Colombia about the country’s armed conflict and the “achievements” that President Gustavo Petro has had during his term.

According to the organization’s report, the Venezuelan State is responsible for 58 violent events during the elections, which means that political violence in Venezuela “occurs within a pro-government political bloc, which uses the State’s media as a competitive tool to eliminate political contenders.”

The document, produced in conjunction with the Rebel Alliance Investigates (made up of Venezuelan media TalCual, Runrun.es y The Whistle), points out that most of the violence came from the Bolivarian National Police (PNB).

According to the Pares Foundation, the PNB is responsible for more than a third of the political violence, which has intensified in the last month of elections, with arbitrary arrests, disappearances, threats from armed groups and even deportations of international observers.

Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have reported a significant increase in cases of arrests across the country following the presidential elections on 28 July. Several political organisations linked to the Venezuelan opposition have also reported the arrest of several of their leaders.

The figures of detainees from the Penal Forum

Penal Forum confirmed that until August 13 at least 117 teenagers have been arrested since July 29 in the context of protests against the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential elections.

The non-governmental organization published its most recent update of the protest figures, in which it counted a total of 1,393 arrests. The arrests took place in 22 states and in the Capital District.

Likewise, Foro Penal has not updated the figures of confirmed deaths that were recorded due to protests in the country. According to the latest report, there are 11 deaths that are divided into the following entities: Capital District (5) and the states of Yaracuy (2), Zulia (2), Aragua (1) and Táchira (1).

For his part, Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, confirmed on August 12 that there have been produced at least 25 deaths following protests over the results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of the presidential elections.

According to the prosecutor, most of the deaths occurred in Caracas and Aragua state, with a total of seven victims in each; then in Bolívar, Yaracuy, Nueva Esparta, Lara, Miranda, Táchira and Zulia, although he did not detail the figures by region.

As of August 2, Saab said, some 192 people had been injured in protests, of which “97 belong to state security forces.”

The official’s figures coincide with those previously given by organizations such as Provea, which to date have documented 24 deaths during the days of July 29 and 30, of which the majority are young people from poor neighborhoods of Caracas.

With information from EFE

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