LatinNews Daily - 4 November 2024

Venezuela: On 29 October US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols wrote on social media that “we are shocked and saddened by the death of prominent Venezuelan democratic activist Edwin Santos. We join the call for a transparent investigation and independently conducted autopsy to determine responsibility for his death following his reported detention by security forces.” Nichols’ comments come after Santos, a regional leader of opposition Voluntad Popular party, was found dead on a bridge connecting the Venezuelan states of Apure and Táchira. According to a 29 October statement by US-based human rights lobby group Washington Office on Latin America (Wola) calling on authorities to investigate his alleged killing, Santos had been missing since 23 October after witnesses reported that he was detained by state security agents while travelling by motorbike to El Pinal town, in Táchira. Wola notes that his death comes in the context of “massive repression” following the 28 July elections which produced a victory for President Nicolás Maduro amid widespread claims of fraud.

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