Venezuela: Ye’kwana and Sanema of the Caura have again appealed to the Government to halt abuse of their rights by the armed forces

A delegation of indigenous representatives presented a petition to the Venezuela Government’s Ministry of Public Affairs to denounce the continuing of abuse of their rights by the armed forces who have been actively involved in illegal gold-mining on the indigenous peoples’ lands. They note that the commander of the local brigade, who along with several other members of his unit burned down two Ye’kwana houses in February and had then been detained by the Ye’kwana before being handed over to the authorities [who promised to investigate], remains in command of his brigade. The information was reported on the website of the human rights organisation Provea. The indigenous representatives note that the illegal mining has been continuing with the connivance of the local military since 2006.

Provea News Release pdf (Spanish only).

Organización Kuyujani acudió al Ministerio Público a denunciar atropellos de la FANB contra indígenas Ye´kwana y Sanema