By Marinelid Marcano. Additional reporting by Carlos Camacho.
A man killed and another six injured was the result of a protest at the Buenos Aires gasoline station in Barcelona, the central area of Anzoategui state.
The situation occurred passed the 3:00 pm on July 25, when a group of people who had been in fuel lines got furious when they noticed that at the gas station, closed at that moment, a group of military officials received access to enter to get fuel.
This situation is the second event of military abetted line cutting, resulting in protests and civilian casualties. A week after ago, an 18-year-old was shot and killed during a similar case in Isla de Toas, Zulia state.
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Witnesses say Colectivo members started the disturbances, while police claim they were attacked with rocks in a concerted manner by an organized group and were only defending themselves.
Venezuelan law forbids the use of fire-arms in crowd control and stipulates an escalated use of force in those situations.
According to witness accounts, drivers who were in the queue went to complain to the National Guard officers about what had happened; however, among the people who complained were members of a collective led by a man nicknamed Balo. After the discussion, a gun battle ensued, in which Carlos Enrique Chaparro, 47 years old, known as Lalo, was mortally wounded.
After Lalo was confirmed dead at around 5:30 pm Saturday, a mob marched to the house of National Guard captain Carlos Borregales, one of the officers at the scene of Chaparro’s death, to sack it and set it on fire, according to some witnesses.
Wounded demonstrator Cristobal Ruiz, 51, was taken to the Luis Razetti hospital in Barcelona. At 10:00 am he was stable after surgery. Ten blood donors get required for his case.
Sunday night, the Attorney General of Maduro regime, Tarek William Saab, recognized on his Twitter account the violent clashes in Barcelona between civilians and officials of the National Guard, and the murder of a citizen.
William Saab said he appointed the eighth and nineteenth prosecutors for the clarification and punishment of such unfortunate events.
