”Armed and masked members of Venezuela’s ‘Death Squad’ have killed more than 200 people over the last year, according to the country’s leading rights’ group.
President Maduro established the Bolivarian National Police’s Special Action Forces (FAES) in 2017, ostensibly to tackle emergency situations such as terrorism and hostage-taking.
But rights groups say the uniformed squad, who possess elite military training and weapons, are responsible extra-judicial killings of hundreds of people in non-extraordinary situations.”
”According PROVEA, a Venezuelan NGO, the 1,300-strong FAES set their sights on petty criminals last year and have since killed hundreds of people in low-income neighborhoods without any subsequent investigations.
And the National Police contingent, which remains loyal to the beleaguered Maduro, have reportedly targeted and killed more than 40 demonstrators at anti-government rallies that erupted across the country earlier this year.
Marino Alvarado, PROVEA’s investigations coordinator, says in total the FAES have killed 205 people.”
