A-Infos (en) Anarchist El Libertario on Venezuela: Anti-police impunity activist assassinated

El Libertario, the Venezuelan anarchist newspaper, denounce the assassination of Mijail 
Martinez as the latest chapter in the Chavez government’s attack against base-level, 
autonomous, revolutionary and dissident organisations. ---- On the morning of 26/11/2009, 
Mijail Martínez – 24 years old – was assassinated in the city of Barquisimeto, Lara state. 
  Martínez was a cameraman and activist with the Victims’ Committee Against Impunity in 
Lara state (commonly referred to as CVCI-Lara in Spanish). According to witnesses, two 
persons unknown attacked Mijail outside his front door, and after calling his name several 
times they fired several shots into his chest area. The victim was an audiovisual producer 
who worked on the television programme of his father, Victor Martínez, a longtime 
Bolivarian militant and former representative on the region’s Legislative Council.

Demonstrating the contradictions within the so called “Bolivarian
process”, Victor had recently been making a series of official complaints
in which he had implicated a whole host of important, high up governmental
and police figures in corruption and human rights violations. Victor told
the media that he believes that there was a political motive to the
murder, and that it represents an attempt to silence him: “Chávez, I
helped you when you were imprisoned and abandoned and noone gave you the
time of day,” he said, “yet you are clearly responsible for the death of
my son and many other crimes, because instead of being the most fervent
defender of the Constitution, you violate it. As a result, all Venezuelans
suffer from the insecurity that there is in this country”.

This political attack must be understood within a regional context of
degradation at every level of government. As human rights organisations
such as Provea (www.derechos.org.ve) have detailed, the state police in
Lara have the second worst record nationally for human rights violations,
accumulating 19.4% of all cases in 2008, with a total of 31 victims. State
police have also been accused of participating in extortion, bank
robberies, kidnappings and the production and trafficking of drugs in
Barquisimeto, activities which overwhelmingly affect the poor. The chronic
situation in Lara has led to the formation of a number of popular
organisations, one being the CVCI, which was founded in 2004. The CVCI has
denounced the involvement of high-ranking regional officials – such as
Rodríguez Figuera, the former police commander – in the creation of police
mafias, alongside Luis Reyes Reyes, the previous state governor, who also
participated and then covered his role up.  Instead of investigating the
official complaints, central government rewarded the ex-governor, putting
him in charge of the Ministry of Popular Power for the Presidential
Secretary (which enforces Chávez’ edicts in national Congress).

Due to their reports and demonstrations, CVCI activists have received a
number of death threats and a number of attempts to criminalise their
work. Mijail Martínez had been recording on video the organisation’s
public activities with the intention of making a documentary about the
members’ experiences.  Some of his work can be found at
http://www.vimeo.com/5130428 (in Spanish).

Here at El Libertario, we denounce this event as the latest chapter in the
government’s attack against base-level, autonomous, revolutionary and
dissident organisations. We also send our messages of condolence and hurt
to Mijail’s family and friends. Mijail was a young man, committed to
social struggle, and we can personally testify as to his enthusiasm and
comradely nature. We also consider this crime to be just one part of the
criminalisation of popular protest undertaken by a government which is
subservient to globalised capitalism. Finally, we denounce the complicity
of the government, of the media at both local and pseudo-“community”
levels, of the Attorney General, the Ombudsman and the Justice Courts for
any action that puts in jeopardy the life and/or integrity of Victor
Martínez and his family, other CVCI activists and members of other popular
social struggles within the state which have registered complaints –
complete with full names – against the involvement of police and state
functionaries in corruption, drug-trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and
assassination in the Central-Western region of the country.

Note: More information -in Spanish & English- about Venezuelan situation
in www.nodo50.org/ellibertario. About the CVCI-Lara' figths and denounces,
see the numbers 52, 54, 55 & 56 of El Libertario, availables in the
website (in Spanish).

Translation: Alan
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