Last week, after months being ignored, my hometown finally made it to the list of places with cases of Covid-19 in the State of Sucre, Venezuela. Historically, small rural towns like Yaguaraparo have always been left out of everything, even in times of political campaigns. Apparently, the situation was so serious that the governor, Edwin Rojas, had to declare a state of emergency and a "radical lockdown" of the whole municipality/county. But does that apply to criminals and their followers?
To isolate a town like this one, which only produces fish in small amounts and some greens, and which depends heavily on commercial exchange from the other towns and the distant urban centers, is criminal, to say the least. Speaking of which, crime is precisely what has ruled this town, and most towns across the country as a matter of fact. For years now, and more so since the mining project known as Arco Minero started, criminal groups have emerged and gained territory with the support of high ranking officials in the military. These criminal groups contribute to social control by terrorizing the communities and making sure gold, drugs and weapons remain in the “right hands.”
There are occasional operations where one or two criminals are killed, after they have messed up with the wrong people or gone on killing rampages that make immediate intervention a must. These gangs made up of mostly local kids in their late teens have developed methods of terror only comparable with the most horrendous horror movies. They can kill parents in plain day light in front of their kids, just to send a message. They can prance their weapons around town, including motor saws, with which they have butchered whoever defies them or refuses to pay their rackets. They are the law of the land, even (or specially) under quarantine.
A couple of days after the governor decreed the lockdown two members of a local gang were killed by the national guard and this is how they conducted their burial.
One may spend a whole life trying to find an explanation for this. Not just the irrational behavior associated with these crowds in times of coronavirus, or the lack of authority (in most burials they actually pull their weapons out and do celebratory gunfire), but the very celebration by "the people" of the life a criminals as if they actually represented every person in attendance's ideals.
All these weapons and amo were seized from the two individuals shot in the operation.
They probably do, and that would explain the escalation and solidification of their power in the region. The criminals themselves are not the problem. We have the military being complicit of their acts, which makes every man and woman in uniform doubly criminal, and then we have the average person who defends and even protects them from anyone who might compromise their agendas.
It is a nightmarish spectacle when you put it in the context of a god-forsaken town whose people are starving and dying of anything from malaria to a shot in the head. There are so many young men and women embracing this bizarre culture, one must seriously doubt whether there is hope for places like this.
Thanks for stopping by
Some difficult stuff going on in your area for sure. It’s amusing that the health officials aren’t busting down doors of the biker gangs or the thugs to try and claim any quarantine garbage. They threaten and isolate the people who won’t fight back at them. Some annoying stuff here!
Absolutely.
Brute force reigns here. They know who to mess up with. I have always said that this kind of regime lasts as long as people are willing to claim some moral superiority and avoid doing what must be done.
Organized crime have claimed most of the country because they laugh at any moral compass. We have been watching on the news surreal movie-like scenes of gangsters shooting at police cars by the cota-905, a now infamous road in Caracas. They do whatever they want to whoever they want in plain daylight.
Having weapons and not being afraid to use them makes all the difference.
Our world is just a big mess. Stay safe!
It is indeed. You too
Thanks
Ah, the beauty of the Governor's incompetence. I love how this guy talks like he does important stuff while nothing actually gets solved. But this has been a poor State since the colonial times ended. There's no salvation or any remant of anything going to change for the better.
You are right. A whole docile and servile generation has gotten used to poverty and corruption; thy even see a good thing in a system that rotten.
While we witness this in the streets, politicians produce a propaganda picture that makes special effect guys feel like novatos.
I don't think people are actually docile. But the own nature of Venezuelans getting used to stuff and mocking it, that's what has gotten the country to this point. Also, it seems that all was well when money was flowing. Now, it's everyone on its own.