Special Action Forces Explained

Special Action Forces should not be confused with Special Action Force.

Unit Name:Special Action Forces
Native Name:Spanish; Castilian: Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales
Branch:Venezuelan National Police
Type:Police tactical unit
Size:800-1000[1]
Nickname:FAES

The Special Action Forces (Spanish; Castilian: Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales de la Policía Nacional Bolivariana, FAES) is an elite command of the Venezuelan National Police created in April 2016.[2] [3] By 2019, it had around 1,300 officers.[4] The FAES includes the Unidad de Operaciones Tácticas Especiales (UOTE) a police tactical unit.[5] The FAES have been accused of being a political instrument of Nicolás Maduro, as well as being a death squad and of repressing the opposition.

History

The complaints by local NGOs and international organizations against the People's Liberation Operation forced Nicolás Maduro's administration to abandon the security policy, but kept the same dynamic in a different security force, the Special Armed Forces (FAES). According to Luis Izquiel, specialist in citizen security, the FAES resulted the "same or worse" in human rights violations.[6]

The FAES have been accused of being a political instrument of Nicolás Maduro, as well as being a death squad and of repressing the opposition.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Between May and November 2017, of the 403 that security forces participated in the Caracas Metropolitan Area, 124 (31%) were attributed to the FAES, which at the same time were responsible for 62% of the killings caused by the National Police.[13]

PROVEA, a Venezuelan human rights group, denounced the FAES of killing more than 100 people in low-income neighborhoods in the six months leading up to January 2019 during the protests in Venezuela.[14]

On 5 July 2019 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, released a report presenting evidence of the murder of at least 6,800 Venezuelans from January 2018 to May 2019 by various security forces including the FAES. The report included documentation of instances of torture, including waterboarding and electric shocks. The regime deemed it as "biased".[15] [16] Bachelet included among her report's recommendations to disband the FAES and open an independent investigation of their actions. Few days after the report was published, Nicolás Maduro appeared publicly with FAES officers, praising them. Although Maduro's administration alleged that the report was plagued with "falsehoods", it has worked along Bachelet's Office. On a September 2020 update of the human rights situation of Venezuela, Bachelet stressed FAES' actions again and informed that according to the Public Ministry, seventy FAES officers had been indicted in several states.[17]

Equipment

In popular culture

The 2019 documentary Colateral, directed by Venezuelan journalist Lucrecia Cisneros, explores the consequences of extrajudicial executions in Venezuela by security forces, including by the FAES.[18] [19]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Conozca las explosivas declaraciones del fiscal Tarek William Saab sobre las Faes . 2020-11-16 . 2024-06-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201201182607/https://www.panorama.com.ve/sucesos/Videos-Conozca-las-explosivas-declaraciones-del-fiscal-Tarek-William-Saab-sobre-las-Faes-20201116-0070.html . 2020-12-01.
  2. http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/maduro-ordeno-fanb-crear-este-ano-fuerzas-acciones-especiales_32237 Maduro ordenó a la FANB crear este año Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales.
  3. Web site: LR. Redacción. January 1, 2019. FAES: 'grupo de exterminio' al servicio de Maduro que allanó casa de Juan Guaidó [FOTOS]]. February 3, 2019. LaRepublica.pe. es.
  4. News: February 3, 2019. Venezuelan special police unit blamed for abuses, killings. en. Reuters. February 3, 2019.
  5. News: 14 December 2017. Gradúan funcionarios del Faes de la PNB para combatir la delincuencia. es. La Patilla. 9 July 2019.
  6. News: Galaviz. Daisy. Las OLP cumplen cinco años tras una estela de violación de DD. HH.. 13 July 2020. 13 August 2020. El Pitazo.
  7. News: Elite police force spreads terror in the barrios of Venezuela . Reuters . 13 November 2019 . 8 October 2019.
  8. http://elestimulo.com/blog/faes-de-fuerza-policial-a-grupo-de-exterminio-segun-defensores-de-ddhh/ FAES, de fuerza élite a “grupo de exterminio”.
  9. https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/venezuela/faes-el-brazo-mas-oscuro-de-la-represion-del-regimen-de-maduro-322088 Faes, el brazo más oscuro de la represión del régimen de Maduro.
  10. News: Venezuela death squads kill young men, stage scenes, U.N. report says . Reuters . Tom Miles . 14 July 2019 . 8 October 2023.
  11. News: Venezuela Forces Killed Thousands, Then Covered It Up, U.N. Says . The New York Times . 8 October 2023 . Nick Cumming-Bruce . 4 July 2019.
  12. News: UN report: Venezuela death squads kill young men, stage scenes. Al Jazeera . October 8, 2023 . 4 July 2019 .
  13. News: FAES, el grupo de exterminio de la Policía Nacional Bolivariana #MonitorDeVíctimas. 2 January 2018. 13 February 2019. Efecto Cocuyo. https://web.archive.org/web/20190213183526/http://efectococuyo.com/principales/faes-el-grupo-de-exterminio-de-la-policia-nacional-bolivariana-monitordevictimas/. 13 February 2019.
  14. Web site: Team. The Caracas Chronicles. January 27, 2019. Meet FAES: The Bolivarian Police Death Squads Leading Repression Against Protesters. February 20, 2019. CaracasChronicles.com.
  15. News: Venezuela's rulers accused by UN of death squads and policy of fear. 5 September 2019. BBC News. 4 July 2019 . British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
  16. News: 13 July 2019. A bloody stalemate: With tenacity and torture, Venezuela's awful regime is hanging on. 32–33. The Economist (registration or subscription required for full article). 5 September 2019.
  17. News: García Marco. Daniel. 12 January 2021. Qué se sabe de la operación policial en Caracas que terminó en una "masacre". es. BBC Mundo. 13 January 2021.
  18. Web site: Salgado . Diego . 2019-12-06 . Cortometraje de estudiantes de la UCAB fue premiado por la Escuela Nacional del Cine . 2023-05-03 . El Ucabista . es.
  19. Web site: Schenk . Pascal . 2021-11-15 . Colateral . 2023-05-03 . CineFrances.Net.

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