At the outset of this report, we extend our deepest sorrow for the deaths of Monica Spear, Thomas Berry, the wounding and orphaning of their little girl, Maya. and our heartfelt sympathy to the families and loved ones of these people. Shortly before midnight on Monday, January 6, assassins murdered Monica Spear and her ex-husband, Thomas Berry and wounded their 5 year old daughter in their car while they were traveling on holiday in Venezuela. We have scoured the international media and followed the story carefully as it continues to unfold in Venezuela’s private media, the international press and airways and on National Public Television and Radio here in order to provide reliable, factual information to Axis of Logic readers. The following details are what we can report with a reasonable degree of confidence at this time:
Social and Political Context If it is possible to understand the horrific and senseless crime and the motivation of the assassins, the social and political context must be explored. We hope that the specific root causes will be revealed more clearly as a result of the criminal investigation. In this report, we try to understand without conjecture what happened by exploring the social and political milieu in which this attack occurred. The social context: The murders took place in a country where violent crime is an endemic, complex and ongoing problem. It may be that this attack can be explained solely as “a robbery gone bad” as reported by the local private and international media. Gangs like Los Rapiditos flourish in various parts of the country and routinely assault, rob and murder, kidnap for ransom, and in some cases are paid “hitmen.” One of their known methods is to rob motorists whose cars break down on the highway. Viewing the murders in this scenario, robbers randomly stopped a car, Spear and Berry resisted in fear by locking themselves inside and deprived their attackers of what they wanted. Out of rage and desire for contents of the car, the robbers opened fire shooting 6 times into the car to gain entry, killing the victims to steal their possessions and money. This would certainly not be the first time this has happened in Venezuela and it will not be the last. It’s also possible that the attack was not random at all and that the killers actually targeted Monica Spear and Thomas Berry figuring that they were wealthy and had money with them. Either way, this would have been how an attempted robbery turned into a double homicide and it would be yet another reflection of the high rate of violent crime in Venezuela. We will discuss Venezuela’s level of crime and violence as a context for this attack more thoroughly below. The political context We are reluctant to include the political situation in Venezuela in this discussion and only do so because the international media's crass politicalization of the murders of Monica Spear and Thomas Berry demands it. The media’s unconscionable use of the lives of these people and the suffering of their child, families and loved ones as tools to discredit the Venezuelan government cannot go unanswered. The many opposition newspapers and private television in Venezuela as well as the international media we have reviewed over the last 2 days have been reporting these murders, as in fact, a ‘robbery gone bad,’ opening the way to advance their political agendas, directly blaming the government for its failure to deal with crime and even for a lack of concern about the victims. This response is not an attempt to defend the government or minimize its responsibility to reduce and control crime in Venezuela. However, if these murders are viewed in a political context the following factors must be considered:
The murders of Monica Spear and Thomas Berry took place within two months after two significant political events in Venezuela: The first was the stunning defeat of the opposition in the December 8 nationwide mayoral elections. The importance of those elections cannot be overstated. After President Maduro won election by a small margin in April, hopes were pinned on the mayoral elections to demonstrate that he did not have the support of most Venezuelans. Instead, the PSUV (the ruling political party) won 255 (76%) of the 337 mayoral seats with the opposition (MUD) winning only 75 (22%) and others, 7% of the vote. Plan Estratégico Venezuela was a dismal failure, leaving the opposition in disarray. The second relevant event was President Maduro’s powerful attack on corruption and his counter-attack on the opposition’s war on the Venezuelan economy. He audited hundreds of corporations and large businesses, reducing retail prices by as much as 70% and arresting many for illegal speculation and usury, designed to drive hyperinflation. Given their history, it was predictable that the US-backed opposition was not about to accept these defeats without a response. As President Maduro entered the new year stronger than ever and the people’s support of the government consolidated at an all time high, the opposition was sure to react. As any group or nation commits itself to overthrow an enemy they naturally look for the weakest place to attack. With the electoral victories and the war on the economy put to bay, the government’s most vulnerable area was and still is domestic security. It’s probably difficult for an outsider to grasp Monica Spear’s importance to the Venezuelan people. She was an extremely high profile woman, held dear to the hearts of the people in a land where beauty queens and novelas (soap operas) are watched with great love and affection. Her death has resulted in four powerful dynamics that reverberate through the culture, stun the people and undermine the government, domestically and internationally. First, if Monica was assassinated for political reasons, it was an act of terrorism and one designed to go to the heart and soul of the people, instilling feelings of fear and insecurity in daily life, limiting personal movement and freedom. Secondly, it undermines their confidence in the government’s ability to protect them from crime. In this case, it is meant to weaken a strong government, showing it to have failed it’s first and foremost responsibility – to protect the people it serves. Third, it maligns Venezuela and the Maduro government in the eyes of the world. Fourth, the government has recently begun to place great emphasis on international tourism. Another high speed rail line from Barquisimeto to Puerto Cabello was recently completed in the national train system, a fleet of new buses have been launched for touring the country and international tourism has been widely promoted as one of the keys of boosting the economy and national prestige. Regardless of who killed Monica Spear and why they did it, the media's widespread use of her death as a political tool during the last two days is an effective attack on Venezuelan tourism. Only yesterday, I received an email message from a friend in the United States who said the news of these murders, “Certainly makes me think twice about ever visiting ...” Venezuelan Opposition and International Media The private media here in Venezuela, in the US and Europe have been headlining massive coverage of the Spear-Berry murders, reporting conflicting details with heavy emphasis on violent crime in Venezuela. Their coverage has focused on the brutality of the murders, their emotional impact and the failure of the Venezuelan government to control crime and protect the people. Without exception greatest emphasis in the news stories which we reviewed by these entities over the last two days has been to place blame on the government. We offer just one example: CNN reports on the murders citing an NGO, The Venezuelan Violence Observatory (VVO), stating:
Our examination of the VVO website shows repeated complaints that the government withholds information on crime statistics and yet differs with the crime rates reported by the government, calling their own statistics “estimates” and most of their reports are anecdotal. While CNN reported “nearly 80 deaths per 100,000 people,” the VVO actually used this figure as a projection, not as a finding. None of the VVO reports credit the government for its broad and gradually effective programs to combat crime, including dramatic poverty reduction; programs for youth in music, sports, work, counseling and education; prohibition of private gun stores; massive confiscation/destruction of illegal weapons; the 55% reduction in homicides in Greater Caracas last year resulting from the “Safe Homeland Program;” Venezuela’s Mision Vivienda, building a million new homes for low income Venezuelans living in substandard housing; Maduro’s Government in the Street program or Community Councils among others. In fact, VVO actually cites Mision Vivienda as a cause of violent crime, revealing their bias. The 17 international media we have reviewed follow suit with these emphases in varying degrees. All of them state unequivocally (before an investigation has taken place) that the murders of Spear and Berry were at the hands of common criminals during an attempted robbery in an extremely dangerous country. Some state emphatically without references, that Venezuela has the second highest murder rate in the world which is contradicted by a number of independent studies. Finally, the international outcry over these murders along with opposition protests in front of the National Assembly and in Las Mercedes, a wealthy municipality in Caracas, stands in stark contrast to their complete silence about the murders of 11 people, including 2 children on April 15 last year, the day after Maduro won the presidential election. This reflects a different value placed upon the lives of 2 celebrities than upon the low income Venezuelans (Chavistas) who were murdered because of their support for the government. Government’s Response to the murders On Tuesday, President Maduro said he “shared feelings of grief and sadness that has engulfed the Venezuelan people for the death of actress Monica Spear.” He convened a meeting with security teams to review what happened and “to adjust all security plans already in progress.” He spoke with investigators to "try to see an explanation, if one can have an explanation an occasion such as this" and stated that he “will act with an iron hand to punish those who follow the path of violence.” On Wednesday he and Miguel Rodriguez Torres, Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace met with governors of 23 states and the mayors of the 79 municipalities with the highest incidence of criminal violence. Maduro asked the media to treat the crime ethically and “not to use the case for political gain and to stimulate hatred." Regarding crime he said,
Maduro stated,
President Maduro offered a proposal to build a model of democratic authority that occupies all levels of the government and simultaneously uses all social structures to ensure the protection of the people, in his words - "replacing, in practice, the values of easy wealth, violence, disrespect for the right to life, with new values of respect for life, the human being." Of his proposal he stated, “the package must not trickle down but must assume full responsibility to attack the violence directly ... Let us be larger than the difficulty.” Minister Rodríguez Torres said,
"parece un sicariato" After spending time on January 8 talking with the detectives who are investigating the case, President Maduro also stated,
Conclusion We make no claim that Monica Spear and Thomas Berry were targeted and assassinated for political reasons; nor do we conclude that their murders amounted to a common crime carried out by thugs who robbed them for what they had in their car. We do not have evidence to support either scenario. But we will be reporting more as details become known from the investigation. The families, loved ones and friends of Monica Spear, Thomas Berry and their little daughter are suffering and all Venezuelans are grieving this ineffable calamity. The impact is deep and permanent. We hope and pray that the government will solve this crime, bring all those responsible to justice and continue to gain increasing control of violent crime and bring peace and security to Venezuela, now more than ever. Finally, the image portrayed of Venezuela by the international media and the US State Department as an extremely dangerous place to visit does not comport with my personal experience having lived here and having had many international visiting guests for nearly 7 years, in peace and without incident. By far most of the violence in Venezuela is related to drugs, alcohol and personal conflicts. As in all cities and countries of the world, care must be taken to measure one's behavior and to avoid dangerous places and situations. Biography,
Essays and Poetry by Les Blough |
