Document #1041002
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
The information that follows was provided
by the Sucesos (Events) section of the Valencia daily El
Espectador during a 3 April 1997 telephone interview. The
source indicated that El Espectador followed the case for
approximately a month and a half, obtaining testimonies from
witnesses and other sources, and that the information provided was
included in news articles on the case published by this and other
Valencia dailies.
"El Botalón" is the name of the
restaurant where a group of five patrons (and a waiter standing by)
were shot by members of the Policia Tecnica Judicial (PTJ) on the
evening of Friday, 23 July 1993. According to witnesses, a group of
police agents entered the restaurant and shot a group of five
individuals sitting at a table before the latter had a chance to
shoot back. Initially, the police claimed that a shoot-out had
taken place and that all the dead patrons were involved in
organized crime. It is not certain whether all five patrons were
armed; it is alleged that the police may have planted a grenade and
a gun in the hands of two of the victims. One of the victims was a
well-known criminal, a former guerrilla who had turned to common
crime and was considered a leader in a large gang responsible for
many crimes. Two of the victims were also known to be involved in
criminal activity. However, the other two appear to have not been
involved in organized crime, and may have been killed by police
agents who thought they were criminal associates of the other
three. The death of those two individuals is what added notoriety
and scandal to the incident. The PTJ anti-robbery division was
headed at the time by comisario Alberto Morales, who was
later implicated in other scandals and was eventually removed from
his post in Caracas and assigned to a post in the interior. The
source was uncertain of Morales' current whereabouts.
The El Universal journalist cited
in VEN26266.E indicated that the information he provided in that
Response was based on his recollection of the case, some notes and
articles readily available to him, and information provided by
colleagues in his section (3 April 1997). The source corroborated
the general information provided in the preceding paragraphs, but
pointed out that some of the details remain contentious, since
there are differing versions of the case and some of its details
were never clarified (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
El Espectador, Sucesos section,
Valencia. 3 April 1997. Telephone interview with
representative.
El Universal, Policiales
section, Caracas. 3 April 1997. Telephone interview with journalist
in charge of section.