Rodríguez Torres: we respected human rights even when dealing with extreme Right conspiracy

Yesterday during the Regional Meeting of UNASUR in Caracas to discuss human rights and citizen’s security, Venezuela’s Interior and Justice Minister, Miguel Rodríguez Torres explained that in the previous regimes the intelligence police service (then called DISIP) “was an institution outside of the law. They did everything they wanted with the human rights of Venezuelans. The DISIP was involved in the banishment of people, torture, and the murdering of many Venezuelans for political reasons.”

Instead, according to the Minister, the current Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia (SEBIN) is an institution that upholds human rights. The proof of this is the way in which the SEBIN and the National Guard dealt with the opposition protests at the beginning of this year: “We broke the guarimbas [street barricades]. It was three months of a conspiracy on the streets by the extreme Right that wanted to reach power by violent means, and we did this with a maximum respect to human rights, and whenever and officer incurred in any violation, we proceeded immediately. We have several officers that are facing trials for the use of fire arms of for having mistreated Venezuelans,” said Rodríguez Torres.

Five officers of SEBIN stand accused of having fired live rounds at protesters on 12 February in La Candelaria, Caracas, killing one person and injuring several others. The SEBIN has repeatedly been accused, by the opposition and human rights NGOs, of human rights violations.

(Rodríguez Torres. Image AVN)