Reports of police abuse have been notorious around the world this year, leading to widespread protests. The United States has begun to demand much-needed police reform, but it is not the only country with serious problems in its security forces. Latin America is one of the most violent regions in the world and the law-enforcement agencies of many of the countries are known for their lethal and cruel treatment.
Few countries are immune from problems in their security forces. Serious cases of human-rights violations are reported every year, but many accusations are not even investigated and others do not seem to leave any precedent in the judicial system. This is why it has become necessary for the population to demand that their complaints be heard, once and for all.
The gravity of the situation in Latin America is alarming, especially in countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico, where violence is very present in the social core. In recent years, conflicts have increased in the region and lethal force is used more often against citizens who do not represent an imminent threat. The security forces have maintained a more ruthless vision with the objective of taking down the enemy without thinking about their civil rights.
On many occasions, police officers involved in murders and excessive use of force have been previously charged in similar cases. Most of these crimes committed by officials are not properly investigated, creating repetitive behavior without proper admonishment, psychological evaluation, suspension, or prosecution.
In 2019, the Monitor on the Use of Lethal Force gathered data from El Salvador, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico. The comparative study was carried out with 2017 figures, both official and those provided in the news of the respective countries, because in nations like Venezuela and Mexico the government does not provide data.
According to the study, the country with the highest number of civilian victims is Brazil, where a large percentage are black men living in the favelas. But after the comparative analysis, it was observed that the highest death rate according to the number of inhabitants is in Venezuela, where for every 100,000 inhabitants, 15.9 civilians die at the hands of state security forces.
The lethality rates have raised the alarm among different human-rights organizations, which are concerned about the security forces acting as extermination groups. Human Rights Watch has warned, in its annual reports, that the authorities in certain Latin American countries must take measures to prevent abuse of the police force and extrajudicial executions.
For its part, the UN, after receiving innumerable complaints over the years, began a series of investigations in 2019 to verify human-rights violations in Venezuela, including those associated with torture, extrajudicial executions, and arbitrary detentions by different security forces.
In Brazil, it is common to hear complaints from the population after police operations in the favelas. According to the inhabitants of these areas, there are intense shootings and the use of force to enter residences, with alarming numbers of people killed and injured. The authorities justify the actions based on the high level of violence in the country, but the harsh policy of the law-enforcement agencies has not improved the conflict that has prevailed for years.
The escalation of violence in Mexico is also worrying. Its inhabitants have to deal with problems related to drug trafficking and criminal gangs, where reports of forced disappearances are increasingly common. In addition, there is a serious problem in the Aztec country due to the excess of police force, as well as corruption in these security bodies.
Impunity and human-rights violations have been common in Mexico for years. Recently, one case that triggered massive protests in the country was that of Giovanni López, a construction worker who was arrested and brutally beaten by police officers. The man was admitted to the hospital with multiple injuries to his chest and head and died a few hours later. The victim’s relatives said that the authorities tried to hide information and bribe them not to report the events.
Colombia is another country severely hit by crime and abuse of power by the security forces. Colombia has a difficult history of war, killings, drug trafficking, disappearances, guerrilla warfare, kidnappings and extrajudicial executions that worsen the prospects of the country.
Vulnerable populations are the most affected by violence, but in addition, citizens feel helpless because they do not have the support of security agents. A few weeks ago, the rape of a 13-year-old indigenous girl shocked everyone in Colombia and provoked widespread repudiation. The minor was assaulted by seven military officers, who are currently in prison. This is not an isolated case; it is the reality of many women and girls in rural areas of the country who suffer abuse from irregular armed groups and the military and, on many occasions, their complaints are not heard.
Venezuela is another vivid example of the increase in crime, the excessive use of police force and the abuse of power. The problems are evident daily in the streets and during the frequent protests that the population carries out against the Maduro government or to demand their fundamental rights such as access to basic services.
Reports of human-rights violations have been recurring in Venezuela in recent years. The cases are innumerable and devastating for the country. One of the incidents most widely known to the community is the assassination of Geraldine Moreno by a group of National Guard troops in 2014. The 23-year-old student was near a protest when she was shot multiple times with pellets in her face, causing her brain and eye injuries.
The officials never stopped, even though they knew she was unarmed, defenseless and had fallen to the ground. Her mother has not rested in her attempt to expose internationally what happened to her daughter and prevent a repetition with another person; unfortunately the abuse of force has continued and similar cases are perpetrated every year.
Image credit: Daniel Zanini H.