On March 13, Melquiades Avila, an indigenous leader and journalist in the remote...
CARACAS - On March 13, Melquiades Avila, an indigenous leader and journalist in the remote Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro, asked on his popular Facebook account: “Will our hospital be ready for coronavirus?”
In a voice message to Reuters, the governor this week said she only wanted to “orient” Avila and ensure he was being “serious and responsible” as a journalist. She declined to answer questions about the hospital, its readiness or previous clashes with Avila, who for years has criticized health care in the state.
Officials from Venezuela’s health, justice and information ministries didn’t respond to requests for comment about the detentions, conditions at the hospitals or police involvement in the coronavirus response. But the forces carrying out the tasks in Venezuela have long been associated with corruption and extralegal violence. The National Police’s feared Special Action Force, accused by citizens and government critics of extrajudicial killings and torture, patrols streets.
Some police, acting on tips from neighborhood informants, are accompanying government medics to poor neighborhoods and forcing individuals with suspected coughs or other illnesses to get examinations, people familiar with the operations said. The administration this week said security forces had visited over 18,000 homes.
Avila, the 54-year-old journalist in Delta Amacuro, has angered government officials before. A member of the native Warao tribe, Avila has chronicled growing health challenges for indigenous peoples during Venezuela’s economic collapse. The Leopoldo Manrique Terrero Hospital, in the Coche district of Caracas, isn’t even open to patients. It hasn’t functioned as a clinical facility for at least three years, two maintenance workers there said. Reuters was unable to identify a director for the hospital or a working telephone number for administrative offices.
On March 15, officers from the Special Action Force, or FAES, arrested Molinos, according to two lawyers defending him. FAES administrators didn’t respond to a Reuters request for comment on the arrest.
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