Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CARACAS162
2007-01-24 19:03:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:
ANGRY MOB BURNS CARACAS POLICE STATION
how-toVZCZCXRO7170 PP RUEHAG RUEHROV DE RUEHCV #0162 0241903 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 241903Z JAN 07 FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7581 INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000162
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM VE
SUBJECT: ANGRY MOB BURNS CARACAS POLICE STATION
REF: 06 CARACAS 3521
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT DOWNES, REASON 1.4
C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000162
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM VE
SUBJECT: ANGRY MOB BURNS CARACAS POLICE STATION
REF: 06 CARACAS 3521
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT DOWNES, REASON 1.4
1. (SBU) Angry neighbors set fire on January 17 to a police
station after the alleged shooting death of a teenage boy in
police custody. The seventeen year old was detained by the
Metropolitan Police in the "Silsa Catia" neighborhood, part
of "23 de enero," an improvished district and Chavez
stronghold in Caracas. The victim subsequently received a
gunshot wound to the chest after he reportedly attempted to
disarm a police officer. According to the state news agency,
Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, the officer in question was
released after police officials decided he had acted in
self-defense.
2. (SBU) Following the victim's funeral, a mob chased police
officers, set ablaze the local police station, and denied
firefighters access to the burning building. Police tried to
unsuccessfully disperse the crowd with rubber pellets. Some
100 people participated in the mob attack, according to local
media reports.
3. (SBU) We are reporting this not because of the importance
of this particular incident, but because it appears to
illustrate festering and growing citizen dissatisfaction with
increasing crime rates and police impunity. According to
prominent human rights NGO Provea, for example, there were
169 documented unlawful killings at the hands of government
security forces between October 2005 and September 2006.
Crime and citizen security were also important issues during
the 2006 presidential campaign. Opposition candidate Manuel
Rosales capitalized on citizen security concerns and
questioned why murders had surged during Chavez's tenure.
(NOTE: Homicides are up over 60 percent since 1999 and public
opinion polls report that violent crime is the top concern of
Venezuelans, including among Chavez supporters. END NOTE)
BROWNFIELD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM VE
SUBJECT: ANGRY MOB BURNS CARACAS POLICE STATION
REF: 06 CARACAS 3521
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT DOWNES, REASON 1.4
1. (SBU) Angry neighbors set fire on January 17 to a police
station after the alleged shooting death of a teenage boy in
police custody. The seventeen year old was detained by the
Metropolitan Police in the "Silsa Catia" neighborhood, part
of "23 de enero," an improvished district and Chavez
stronghold in Caracas. The victim subsequently received a
gunshot wound to the chest after he reportedly attempted to
disarm a police officer. According to the state news agency,
Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, the officer in question was
released after police officials decided he had acted in
self-defense.
2. (SBU) Following the victim's funeral, a mob chased police
officers, set ablaze the local police station, and denied
firefighters access to the burning building. Police tried to
unsuccessfully disperse the crowd with rubber pellets. Some
100 people participated in the mob attack, according to local
media reports.
3. (SBU) We are reporting this not because of the importance
of this particular incident, but because it appears to
illustrate festering and growing citizen dissatisfaction with
increasing crime rates and police impunity. According to
prominent human rights NGO Provea, for example, there were
169 documented unlawful killings at the hands of government
security forces between October 2005 and September 2006.
Crime and citizen security were also important issues during
the 2006 presidential campaign. Opposition candidate Manuel
Rosales capitalized on citizen security concerns and
questioned why murders had surged during Chavez's tenure.
(NOTE: Homicides are up over 60 percent since 1999 and public
opinion polls report that violent crime is the top concern of
Venezuelans, including among Chavez supporters. END NOTE)
BROWNFIELD