The Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship (CODEHCIU) published its latest report on the disappearance of people in the context of mining in Bolívar State.
By La Patilla – Pableysa Ostos
Jun 29, 2022
Through a press release, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that operates in the south of the country, urged the Venezuelan State to design a search protocol for disappeared persons in violent contexts, based on international standards for the protection of human rights.
The monitoring was carried out for 8 months, between September 2021 and April 2022, recording during that time 37 reports of missing persons in seven mining municipalities in Bolívar state.
The jurisdiction that recorded the most cases was Sifontes, with 17 missing persons; followed by Sucre and El Callao, both with 3 cases; then Gran Sabana with 2; and Piar with 1. The report also noted that at least 9 people reported missing had been found.
Of the total number of people in the records, 30 people remain missing and only two appeared dead, CODEHCIU highlighted. They also explained that “65% of the disappeared persons are men between 20 and 58 years of age (…), while 35% of the disappeared persons are women between 18 and 55 years of age.” The age of another 15 people is unknown.
At least five people have been reported missing so far in 2022; another 12 disappeared in 2021 and another dozen in 2020. On the other hand, 2 people disappeared in 2019 and another in 2017.
Disappearances
“As observed by this organization, one of the patterns identified was the lack of communication caused by the lack of access to a telephone signal in the mining areas. The people reported as missing, before disappearing, could not call their relatives for longs periods. In the territory where they were working they frequently did not have access to a telephone signal or internet connection, and they often move to other mining camps or municipalities without notifying family members,” highlighted the NGO press release.
Similarly, the report warns that at least three people disappeared during transfer between the mines. Others on their first trip to the mines, but all disappeared in a context of violence, such as in alleged armed confrontations or under the presumption of kidnapping.
“30% of the relatives reported that they did not report the disappearance of their loved one to the competent bodies due to lack of confidence in the actions of the State and ignorance of the functions of organizations such as the Corps of Criminal and Criminalistic Scientific Investigations (Cicpc).”
The report warns that family members have reported to CODEHCIU that some officials unofficially confessed to them that they do not have enough personnel, vehicles and other resources to search for people while they are alive, and to defend themselves in violent territory.
Of the total number, the majority of the disappeared persons are from Bolívar State, which accounted for 11; others are from Anzoátegui and Apure, with two cases each state; Sucre; Yaracuy; Monagas and Zulia; with one case each. The organization does not know the place of origin of the rest of the people registered as disappeared in their records.
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