Tucupita, the capital of the state of Delta Amacuro, used to be described as a peaceful and quiet place where hardworking people with noble hearts lived.
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However, they are afraid to express themselves or give their opinion on the many problems that affect their communities, to report acts of corruption, and much less dare to question the supposed “victory” of Nicolás Maduro in the past presidential elections of July 28th, 2024.
This small city, in the extreme east of Venezuela, has about 130,598 inhabitants. A large part of the population is on the public administration payroll, while a smaller percentage works in small and medium-sized businesses or is dedicated to the informal economy.
The lapatilla.com team interviewed a journalist who has been working in the region for about 10 years.
He states that when he started writing daily articles for a local newspaper that stopped circulating, people were more open to talking and giving their opinions regarding the situation in the country, the failures in services in his community and many other aspects, but the panorama began to change when government agencies retaliated against those who complained.
“I remember a case of a woman who called the radio to report failures in the water supply and to report the driver of a water tankertrunck who was charging her an excessive amount to fill her hame reservoir tanks. After a few days, the woman was forced to resign from her job,” said the journalist, who asked that his identity be protected and remaim anonymous.
The journalist says that this fact served as a warning for all those who wanted to do the same. In other cases, they took away their “CLAP bag” (A government run food aid program), suspended their salaries or were demoted in their jobs.
“Then, people told me what was happening to them, but they did not let me take photos of them, or if I recorded, they asked me not to say their name (…) I thought it was like that everywhere until I covered other places, and no, people were not as afraid as in Tucupita. The governor (Lizeta Hernández) is blunt and aggressive with those who bother her,” he said.
Censorship in the media
Radio stations predominate in the city, due to their immediacy and reach. This medium is the favorite and one of the most used by the people of the Delta to find out about daily events and report the failures of public services through some opinion programs, but currently “the phones have stopped ringing,” says the owner of a radio station in the city.
The journalist goes on to say: “The only ones who have the license to not only express their opinion, but also to launch threats, insults and threats are the Chavistas. The rest cannot say anything, because they immediately send for you with the Sebin (political police), cut off your electricity or close down your radio station.”
The interviewee also believes that freedom of expression is exercised with many limitations. “They let you pass compliments and greetings, but never say what the people suffer,” she concluded.
A politician, who declared anonymously for this report, assures that “the repressive weapon of the regime at this time has another configuration: it is no longer just firing people from their positions or taking away their Clap bag, but they threaten, cut off the electrical service to the media or overcharge the electricity bills, and the media has had no choice but to accept this intimidation. There is no local media that tells what is really happening in Delta Amacuro,” he said.
“People are terrified because they (the Chavistas) have already taken off their masks, people already know about all the criminal structures that operate in the Delta and all the illegal businesses that they run. To this we must add the paramilitary groups that Lizeta Hernández commands, which are the group of collectives that wear hoods, black clothes and drive around in 30 to 40 motorcycles frightening people,” the leader denounced.
Harassment of opponents
Currently, a total of 10 politicians and people close to the Vente Venezuela party are being persecuted in Delta Amacuro, according to figures offered by an anonymous source.
He commented that even his family is being harassed by the Sebin and the “colectivos”.
Another political leader, who for the sake of his safety did not reveal his identity, denounced that members of his family are constantly persecuted by the Sebin.
“My wife and my children have traumas. When they tried to capture me in my house, the children witnessed our escape. Wherever my wife goes, undercover agents from the Sebin follow her. If she goes to work or to go shopping, they watch her. We have not committed any crime and neither have our relatives. We live in constant terror and we have to deal with this on a daily basis, all of us who are going through a similar situation.”
He explained that, in addition, he has been harassed and threatened on different occasions. “I have received threats on social media through anonymous accounts. They have told me that the operation ‘tun tun’ (knock knock) will fall on me.”
This investigation compiles some of the human rights violations that occur in Tucupita, which despite being a region that is not on the news agenda, it is not exempt from the repression and abuses by police and government agencies.