As the latest chapter in the Chavez government’s attack against base-level, autonomous,
revolutionary and dissident organisations. —- On the morning of 26/11/2009, Mijail
Martínez – 24 years old – was assassinated in the city of Barquisimeto, Lara state.
Martínez was a cameraman and activist with the Victims’ Committee Against Impunity in Lara
state (commonly referred to as CVCI-Lara in Spanish). According to witnesses, two persons
unknown attacked Mijail outside his front door, and after calling his name several times
they fired several shots into his chest area. The victim was an audiovisual producer who
worked on the television programme of his father, Victor Martínez, a longtime Bolivarian
militant and former representative on the region’s Legislative Council.

Demonstrating the contradictions within the so called “Bolivarian process”, Victor had
recently been making a series of official complaints in which he had implicated a whole
host of important, high up governmental and police figures in corruption and human rights
violations. Victor told the media that he believes that there was a political motive to
the murder, and that it represents an attempt to silence him: “Chávez, I helped you when
you were imprisoned and abandoned and noone gave you the time of day,” he said, “yet you
are clearly responsible for the death of my son and many other crimes, because instead of
being the most fervent defender of the Constitution, you violate it. As a result, all
Venezuelans suffer from the insecurity that there is in this country”.
[But what about freedom of the press?]

This political attack must be understood within a regional context of degradation at every
level of government. As human rights organisations such as Provea (www.derechos.org.ve)
have detailed, the state police in Lara have the second worst record nationally for human
rights violations, accumulating 19.4% of all cases in 2008, with a total of 31 victims.
State police have also been accused of participating in extortion, bank robberies,
kidnappings and the production and trafficking of drugs in Barquisimeto, activities which
overwhelmingly affect the poor. The chronic situation in Lara has led to the formation of
a number of popular organisations, one being the CVCI, which was founded in 2004. The CVCI
has denounced the involvement of high-ranking regional officials – such as Rodríguez
Figuera, the former police commander – in the creation of police mafias, alongside Luis
Reyes Reyes, the previous state governor, who also participated and then covered his role
up. Instead of investigating the official complaints, central government rewarded the
ex-governor, putting him in charge of the Ministry of Popular Power for the Presidential
Secretary (which enforces Chávez’ edicts in national Congress).

Due to their reports and demonstrations, CVCI activists have received a number of death
threats and a number of attempts to criminalise their work. Mijail Martínez had been
recording on video the organisation’s public activities with the intention of making a
documentary about the members’ experiences. Some of his work can be found at
http://www.vimeo.com/5130428 (in Spanish).

Here at El Libertario, we denounce this event as the latest chapter in the government’s
attack against base-level, autonomous, revolutionary and dissident organisations. We also
send our messages of condolence and hurt to Mijail’s family and friends. Mijail was a
young man, committed to social struggle, and we can personally testify as to his
enthusiasm and comradely nature. We also consider this crime to be just one part of the
criminalisation of popular protest undertaken by a government which is subservient to
globalised capitalism. Finally, we denounce the complicity of the government, of the media
at both local and pseudo-“community” levels, of the Attorney General, the Ombudsman and
the Justice Courts for any action that puts in jeopardy the life and/or integrity of
Victor Martínez and his family, other CVCI activists and members of other popular social
struggles within the state which have registered complaints – complete with full names –
against the involvement of police and state functionaries in corruption, drug-trafficking,
extortion, kidnapping and assassination in the Central-Western region of the country.

Note: More information -in Spanish & English- about Venezuelan situation in
www.nodo50.org/ellibertario. About the CVCI-Lara’ figths and denounces, see the numbers
52, 54, 55 & 56 of El Libertario, availables in the website (in Spanish).

Translation: Alan