President Nicolás Maduro addresses the governors and mayors at the government house (Photo: AVN/Télam/dsl)
Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro called for the creation of a “model of democratic authority” in order to address the high levels of crime in the country. Maduro held a meeting today with Venezuela’s governors and mayors, as a response to the public outcry caused yesterday by the murder of a former Miss Venezuela and her husband. In the meeting, the president stated that the current model of “war against criminals” has failed, and that it must be replaced by a new model that is “integrally humane, that guarantees protection, but also brings peace and substitutes the anti-values of violence and disrespect towards life.” He proposed a number of measures, including the alignment of all the country’s police forces and a national plan to disarm criminals and integrate them into the labour market.
Chile: The country’s Supreme Court closed the investigation into the death of former President Salvador Allende, stating that there is no evidence supporting allegations that Allende was murdered. The case was brought before the Chilean justice in January 2011, when prosecutor Beatriz Pedrals challenged the theory that the former head of state had committed suicide. With regards to the alleged participation of military personnel in his death, the ruling considers that such personnel arrived at the scene after the suicide, and that no witnesses were able to confirm the theory of a confrontation between them and Allende.
Brazil: A video was released showing inmates from a prison in the Brazilian state of Maranhao playing with the heads of beheaded men from a rival gang. The video, filmed in December but released yesterday by personnel from the Pedrinhas prison, has reignited the debate over the state of the Brazilian penitentiary system. Pedrinhas is considered to be particularly violent, as a conflict between rival gangs left 62 people dead in less than a year and dozens of family members of inmates denounced being raped upon entering the prison. Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the UN, have expressed their concern over the “terrible state” of Brazilian jails, and demanded “the immediate, unbiased, and effective investigation” of the violent incidents that took place in Pedrinhas.
The post Latin America News Roundup: 8th January 2014 appeared first on The Argentina Independent.
