Víctima del ejército venezolano en EE.UU. denuncia torturas a opositores
Carlos Doub Advant was 26 years old when seven soldiers targeted him as he fell on Thursday, April 16, 2013, near the headquarters of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. An activist and political lawyer, he was protesting solely to request the national voting records that took place after the death of former President Hugo Chávez.
«I was beaten, I was robbed,» said La Voz de América when he was 38 years old in Miami, Florida. On that day, he recounted an encounter with Rafael Quero Silva, a recently arrested Venezuelan colonel, in his city of residence in the United States for Immigration Services.
Carlos is the son of General Rafael Doebront Torres, a former commander of the Venezuelan National Guard, who perished in an airplane accident in December 2004. After demanding transparency in the elections that Nicolás had supposedly won with a significant advantage in Detachment 47 of the Lara state, in the western center of the country, then commanded by Quero.
It was there that an opposition protester arrested was linked to General Dobront. Quero Silva reprimanded him, just before allowing his subordinates to attack, which included electric shocks and beatings, according to his testimony.
«He started insulting me, giving me stupid and ridiculous speeches about the revolution,» he recalled, referring to the lieutenant colonel and President Hugo Chávez.
He mentioned hearing calls from military friends of his family and intermediaries who fruitlessly requested his release. Quero Silva accused him of being a «miserable,» a term used by Chávez and his followers for those who opposed their socialist political project.
«He ordered the torture and terror to begin,» said Doebront, who advocated for anti-Chavist Venezuela and a new dawn, being part of the student movement that successfully faced Chávez’s constitutional reform in 2007.
«Poles» and electric shocks
During the 72 hours following the arrest, several soldiers beat him in the stomach, legs, and back, and also hit him with headphones and shields on the head.
«They took you to continue in the same place,» said Doebront, detailing how he was beaten on the terrace and in two other dungeons where they were transferred to the military facility.
A captain named Rojas «led the torture» against him and the dozens of opposition protesters he was detained with.
The soldiers who arrived at the detachment after clashing for hours with the opposition protesters in the streets of Barquisimeto were not only full of adrenaline but also took valuables like glasses, gold chains, watches, and other items from the detainees, according to Dubront. One of them even had a Taser or electric pistol as part of their «war zone»; Rojas decided to use it against the detainees.
Initially, they «tested it out on camouflage,» sitting a few meters away from Doebront. Then, almost all the young people arrested in Barquisimeto were subjected to electric shocks on their neck, back, stomach, or wherever they were directed.
«They were tired, and at least one ‘cascade’ was given to you,» he said. They were forced to sing Chavismo jingles and shout that Maduro was their president. Non-compliance with orders was met with arbitrary punishment. «The same thing hit you. It was humiliating.»
Civil organizations in Venezuela, such as Funpaz and the Criminal Forum, documented human rights violations against approximately 120 people between April 15 and 16, 2013, in Barquisimeto, primarily at the hands of the military detachment 47.
These reports include the case of Ivonne, a young Venezuelan cook who was subjected to electric shocks in that military installation, even on the soles of his shoes. Like other detainees, he was beaten with a frozen water bottle. A group of these military personnel was commended by the Regional Legislative Council days later.
Dobront noticed that some uniforms were «expertly» designed to avoid leaving bruises but perhaps a reddish discoloration, undetectable by examining doctors.
One of these punches is known as «matachivos»: it is also recommended on the throat without leaving major traces, he recalled.
Doebront believes that his resistance to falsely incriminating opposition leaders for alleged conspiracy plans against the government contributed to the decision to attack him with «beatings, torture, electric shocks» for 3 days before being granted conditional release and periodic court appearances.
«They wanted to plant more things that weren’t mine, like tear gas, even a portion of marijuana. The judge realized that this wasn’t my bag,» because it was too small to fit or be his property, as reported by VAA.
He managed to go into exile in 2016, first traveling to Argentina to seek treatment for a gastrointestinal illness, and eventually moving to the United States, where he established permanent residency.
According to his accounts, documented in the Venezuelan press and in federal investigations in the United States, Quero Silva was the mastermind behind these abuses. «The torture was directed by him, often by direct order.»
According to Venezuelan NGOs and victims of political repression in the country, Quero Silva was arrested in the United States as part of a federal agency investigation that began over 5 years ago, after being identified as an additional player in a Florida soap opera.
The human rights violations attributed to Quero Silva by Venezuelan NGOs in Venezuela include the arbitrary detention of individuals for over 70 years, orders for the forced haircut of detained youth, multiple cases of torture, and even alleged sexual abuse by military personnel associated with detachment 47.
According to reports in ONG Prova, opposition protesters endured the «most ferocious repression» in Barquisimeto between April 15 and 16, 2013. The military response in that city was considered a serious example of institutional malpractice in handling street protests that would be reported in the following years, especially in 2014 and 2017.
Advant mentioned that Quero Silva had the «desire» to gain fame in the political and military power in Venezuela as an effective oppressor against the government.
He shared that his direct messages on social media are flooded daily with numerous complaints against Quero Silva, who, he believes, made the «ridiculous mistake» of coming to the United States, thinking he would go unnoticed and could live and receive benefits within the «US Migrant System.»
«The number of people who write to tell me how they have suffered humiliations and abuses, including theft or damage to their property, is incredible. He is a vile character. The victims of this criminal are countless.»
In his view, there should be an investigation into his involvement in drug trafficking offenses with possible connections to the political system. The United States accused members of the Venezuelan government in 2019, including Nicolás Maduro and his Minister of Defense, as alleged members of a criminal organization identified as the SENS poster and even offered a reward for information leading to their arrest.
Maduro and several officials in his government, like Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, have rejected these charges. On the other hand, they denounce alleged conspiracy plans by foreign governments to remove them from power through violent means.
Doebront stated that he has no doubt that Quero Silva was «the executive arm of repression for the Los Soles poster.» As a victim, he calls for US authorities to prosecute him for potential immigration fraud, let alone deporting him to Venezuela, but rather to hold him accountable for his role in large-scale political repression and persecution.
«It’s not about revenge; we want justice.»
FUENTE
