At least four killed in clashes between security forces and criminal gangs in Caracas

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least four people died in the past 24 hours due to clashes between security officers of Nicolás Maduro’s regime and armed groups in the Cota 905 neighborhood, west of Caracas, Venezuela.

The Executive has been trying to regain control of the area for some months now, and clashes have become frequent.

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Meanwhile, Efecto Cocuyo newspaper reported that shooting and tension in Cota 905 continue this Thursday (8). Bolivarian National Guard troops are in the vicinity of Plaza Madariaga, in El Paraíso.

Journalist Román Camacho recently reported that a citizen named Giovanni Rafael Bracamonte, who was traveling along the highway, was among the dead when criminals shot him upon reaching the Paraíso tunnels. Bracamonte remained inside the tunnel sheltered along with other wounded people but died within a few minutes.

“Members of the Cota 905 gang descended to the Boulevard del Cementerio and positioned themselves in a corner with rifles, the subjects aimed at the buildings. They also headed down to the Helicoide bridge and Plaza Madariaga in El Paraíso,” the journalist detailed on Twitter, where he shared videos.

Venezuela’s interim president Juan Guaidó commented on the incidents on Twitter. “Today again, Caracas dawns as a war zone, counts wounded and dead, with our people afraid to leave their homes as a result of the unpunished deeds of armed gangs,” he said.

And he added: “These gangs were armed and guaranteed by the dictatorship as ‘peace zones’ for social control. Today they are totally out of control, risking the lives of all and reflecting the government’s absence in daily life.”

“Will the Armed Forces continue parading and exhibiting, or will they exercise their proper duties? Will they continue handing over territory and defending criminals, or will they exercise sovereignty and enforce the constitution?” he asked.

The Venezuelan press explains that Caracas residents are pessimistic about the violent power of criminal gangs in the area. Every week, there are clashes with deaths and injuries that force residents to remain locked in their homes to avoid danger.

NGO Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia (OVV) reported that Venezuela was the country with the most violent deaths in Latin America in 2020: 11,891 people died of violent causes, implying a rate of 45.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Among the dead were 4,231 people who died in cases of “resistance to authority,” 4,153 homicides and 3,507 deaths under investigation, as explained by OVV’s director Roberto Briceño-León.

The OVV also noted that in 2020 there was a weakening of small gangs and a strengthening of large gangs dedicated to organized crime. “This process was accompanied by a decrease in predatory crimes, such as robbery, theft, and kidnapping by small gangs,” the organization noted. In parallel, there was an “increase in extortion by large gangs of the few active business activities with access to foreign currency.”