| Advocates for the victims of this year’s Venezuelan right-wing opposition violence have visited the Organization of American States to demand justice for their relatives. The Committee of Guarimba Victims delivered a detailed document explaining the crimes against their loved ones. They demand that the perpetrators of the wave of violence do not go unpunished by the international community. From February this year, at least 43 people were killed in the wave of right-wing violence. Many fatalities were caused by barricades made up of barbed wire which motorcycle drivers crashed into. Others were killed by gunshots. The large majority of the international and mainstream media portrayed the Guarimbas as government-perpetrated. This group of victims are determined to expose the truth. "We want to spread the truth, and from the media we have had a positive response, letting Venezuelans and the international media know the truth," explained Desiree Cabrera, a representative of the group. The Committee wants to highlight the wave of right-wing opposition violence, carried out in coordination with extremist political groups within the opposition, and are calling for justice and accountability over the deaths of their relatives. The victims consider Leopoldo Lopez, the jailed right-wing leader, Maria Machado, and other prominent opposition leaders as responsible for the violent outbreak of Guarimbas. The victims committee visited the embassies of the United States and Spain last week to deliver a document detailing the human rights violations made by these extremists groups. The victims targeted those embassies due to the outspoken support given by their respective governments to the jailed Leopoldo Lopez. The victims committee has also visited the United Nations office in Caracas to deliver the same document. Source URL |