Venezuela on Monday began to open unmarked graves of dozens of people killed when police and soldiers crushed riots against free market policies by poor inhabitants of Caracas two decades ago.
Public investigators removed remains from the tombs in one of Caracas’ main cemeteries and hope to match them to some of the hundreds of riot victims who died in the outburst of unrest sparked in 1989 by increases in gasoline prices. The forensic evidence could help bring to justice officials who rights activists say ordered the security forces to open fire to contain the days-long rioting known as the Caracazo.
“Twenty years of impunity must end here, this must set a precedent that soldiers and politicians cannot kill people again,” said Jose Luis Martinez, 42, who lost a kidney in the protests. He says he was shot by a policeman simply for being on the street.
Leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says the riots were a revolt against US-backed economic measures and its repression sowed the seeds for his coming to power a decade later.
The government is preparing to try three high-ranking soldiers, including former defense minister Italo del Valle, whom it accuses of ordering the massacre after days of looting in Caracas and other cities.
Officially, 340 people were killed in the turmoil that began on Feb. 27, 1989, but some rights groups say more than 1,000 died.
Some victims’ families protested the exhumation because forensic studies are to be carried out by the army without the presence of international experts that would ensure a fair investigation.
The fort in Caracas is one of Venezuela’s main bases. While former soldier Chavez strongly condemns the Caracazo massacre, he may also be wary of upsetting the army too much. In 2002 he was briefly ousted in a military-backed coup.
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