In recent months, Venezuelan citizens have taken to the streets to demand solutions to the current economic crisis from the government. Many have even requested President NicolĂĄs Maduroâs resignation.
The Venezuelan state has responded to these protests with repression. Certain office holders have been accused of committing human rights violations. As a result, political leaders from the opposition have asked the Venezuelan security forces â especially the army and the Bolivarian National Guard â to denounce any crimes that the state has committed.
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At the moment, the armed forcesâ position vis-Ă -vis the government is not clear. Some speculate that the Bolivarian National Guard is divided. Others claim that the regime exerts full control over the its members. The only certainty is that uncertainty abounds.
The PanAm Post had the opportunity to interview a Bolivarian National Guard member of middle rank, who asked to remain anonymous since his views could expose him to danger.
Why has the state launched an offensive against criminal groups?
The situation was getting out of hand for political reasons. The state has no means to control criminal groups. The countryâs jails are in chaos. The streets themselves are in chaos. The stateâs security personnel are unarmed.
The Maduro regime created the Organization for the Protection and Liberation for the People (OLP) to fight organized crime. Has that organization committed illegal acts as well?Â
From a legal standpoint, yes. Now from the point of view of the general population, no, because they tolerate harsh methods against the criminal bands.
But do they only kill criminals?Â
In the majority of cases.
Is the OLP really carrying out its operations strictly to end gang violence?
That is their main purpose. But there is also a political element. The OLPâs creation was a desperate measure. The government had given liberty to the gangs to do what they please. They armed them and now they are attacking them.
Is the OLP at war with gangs and with government officials at the same time?Â
Yes, because they canât control them. They have become too powerful. They are armed and they teach military strategy. These criminals used to fight against each other. Now they have a truce between them and they fight the military and other security forces. They say, âas long as we kill them, weâll survive.â
Does the state benefit by arming gangs? What is the regime trying to achieve?Â
Their goal is to have armed groups on their side in case of political turmoil. That is the final goal. Disarmament laws only affect innocent people. Criminal have many more weapons than we do at the National Guard. They also have much more power. We canât control that now. Any solution will come too late.
The economic crisis and the public health crisis are becoming uncontrollable. The security forces are competent, but the government had to realize that the criminals were killing us all before they acted against them.
How corrupt is the National Guard?
There is corruption in the National Guard, and there always has been. The difference is that, before, the system was more efficient. The National Guard decayed when it became political. Since we started to vote and to take part in the countryâs political life, there has been no peace in the ranks.
Now there is pressure on us because we have to follow the constitution, but we also have to be loyal to our higher officers even when their orders donât correspond to the laws. If their orders contradict the laws, you canât follow them. So there is a rift between the security forces and the other institutions.
The government has an apparatus for persecution and espionage, so you canât make negative statements about officials. Security forces themselves are plagued by informants. You have to watch your every word.
All of those military upheavals denouncing the government, those attempts to overthrow the government â are they real?
No, the majority are false. There wonât be any coup attempts in Venezuela.
Why not?
Right now, all elements of the armed forces are under control. A coup-dâĂ©tat takes place when you reach a breaking point and someone in the higher echelons of the armed forces decides that itâs time to act against the government.
Right now in Venezuela, there are political divisions within the armed forces. There is neither the necessary unity nor the necessary organization for a coup to take place. Besides, officers fear the governmentâs informants. Everyone is on guard.
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What will result from the current discontent?
The army and the National Guard are waiting. I can assure you that we are quite unhappy. But there is an entire structure above us, so itâs not easy to act. We receive criticism from all sides.
Wherever I go, I come face to face with civiliansâ displeasure and complaints. I also think the opposition has failed to take advantage of its opportunities to topple the government.
How so?
For example, when they won the parliamentary elections last December, the atmosphere was tense. The entire leadership knew what would happen. So did we.
Former Speaker of the House Diosdado Cabello was willing to take the armed forces to the street against the opposition, but Padrino LĂłpez, the Minister of Defense, didnât allow him to do so.
What happened exactly on December 6?Â
The stories are true. That day there was a strong discussion between Padrino LĂłpez and Cabello. LĂłpez told Cabello that, if he ordered the troops to take the streets, he was going to have the army kill him.
But did Padrino LĂłpez only do it to save his own skin?
Of course. He would have been responsible if the army started to massacre people. LĂłpez was not going to allow that to happen. So that day the army was ordered to guard the opposition.
