Amnesty International: Venezuela Murder Toll Worse Than War Zones, Government Responsible

The Venezuelan government is responsible for the “worst human rights crisis in its history,” according to Amnesty International.

The human rights organization’s latest research into violence and abuse in Venezuela, published September 20, states the following.

“Firstly, the state has failed to guarantee the right to life in a context of violence between private individuals. And secondly, the state has implemented repressive measures, adopting military methods, in responding to crime, that have led to serious human rights violations, in particular extrajudicial executions.”

Venezuela’s socialist government has, according to Amnesty International’s 58-page report, effectively criminalized poverty and continues to violate human rights.

• Eight thousand two hundred and ninety-two extrajudicial executions took place between 2015 and 2017.
• Twenty-two percent of the homicides in 2016 (4,667 ) was at the hands of security officials.
• Ninety-five percent of victims were men, between 12- and 29-years-old.
• There has been a 65 percent increase in maternal mortality, data shows, and a 30 percent increase in infant mortality.
• Eighty-seven percent of citizens live in poverty.

While the country’s government has managed to implement 17 so called security plans over the last 17 years, they have not been effective. The government is murdering Venezuelans and continues to praise the practice.

Gross human rights abuses have forced 2.3 million Venezuelans to flee the country.

“Venezuela is going through one of the worst human rights crises in its history… the Venezuelan authorities are using the language of war to try to legitimise the use of excessive force by police and military officials and, in many cases, the use of lethal force with intent to kill,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International Americas Director, said.

According to Guevara-Rosas, President Maduro’s socialist government needs to implement new guidelines for the proportional and differentiated use of force and comply with human rights norms.

President Maduro should guarantee the right to life, instead of taking the lives of young people #Venezuela https://t.co/6gx1DFfgnh

— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) September 21, 2018

As the Inquisitr reported, in May this year, Socialist leader Nicolas Maduro won a second six-year term as President of Venezuela, beating his nearest rival Henri Falcon by almost 40 points. In the deeply impoverished country rife with corruption, Maduro’s victory did not come as a surprise. The socialist leader handed out benefits (money, food boxes) to those who voted for him, effectively buying votes.

For years, Western socialist and democratic socialist have praised Venezuela (perhaps most notably, Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn, who congratulated Maduro and refuses to denounce him), according to the Spectator, but the situation in the impoverished country is about to get even worse.

Maduro’s regime will likely lead to famine, and even greater economic catastrophe, since Venezuela’s socialist leader recently increased the minimum wage by 6,000 percent, continues to borrow and print money, turning Venezuela into a gigantic economic laboratory, with 32 million citizens reduced to “guinea pigs.”