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A FAES member during an operation in Caracas, January 25, 2019. LUIS ROBAYO / AFP

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released its report on the human rights situation in Venezuela on Friday (July 5th). He points to the role of FAES, the special action forces.

They only answer to the orders of the president. Created in April 2016 by Nicolas Maduro, the Fuerzas de acciones especiales (special action forces) are a unit of the Venezuelan police originally intended to fight organized crime and drug trafficking.

In reality, like Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro has no confidence in the police and the army. Nor does he trust the Sebin (intelligence) and the DGCIM (General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence), two bodies created by his predecessor, because at that time, strong rivalries exist within the Chavist camp. It is for this reason that he wishes to have his own unit: the FAES.

A " death squad "

However, according to the report published this Friday (to read here in English) by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the FAES would be responsible for very many extrajudicial executions. OHCHR reports deliberate excessive use of force to instil fear and discourage opponents. Interviewees at Michelle Bachelet's mission in Venezuela describe this unit as " a death squad ", " an extermination group ". According to the Venezuelan NGO Provea, cited in the report, more than 3,600 people were murdered between 2017 and 2018 and estimates that 28% of these deaths are attributable to FAES.

FAES men are traveling in black and unregistered vehicles. Dressed in black from head to toe, they are always hooded and thus impossible to identify. When they arrive in a perimeter, these units block the entrances and exits so that nobody knows what is going on there, details still the report of the OHCHR. These overtrained and heavily armed men do not hesitate to shoot their victims next to other members of their family, usually with a bullet in the chest. According to the UN, FAES have also become masters in handling crime scenes.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for transparent and independent investigations and guarantees that such acts will no longer be perpetrated. In her recommendations, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet calls for the outright dissolution of these special forces.

Other actors of the repression

FAES are not the only police forces pinned in this report. The CICPC, a scientific, criminal and forensic investigation unit, the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), the Sebin, the DGCIM and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) are also responsible for serious violations of human rights.

Another actor, and not least, is also included in this list: "colectivos". These groups of civilians armed under the orders of the United Socialist Party and often led by criminals regularly accompany the official units of the police. These "colectivos" are also masters of intimidation, robbery and murder.

► See also - Venezuela: UN report thrashes Nicolas Maduro