By Jim Wyss | Miami Herald

Brutal new images of an indigenous massacre in southern Venezuela emerged Friday, almost five months after the government deployed troops to keep international aid from entering the country.

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization and the Venezuelan nonprofit Foro Penal released footage on Friday that appears to capture a government attack on a Pemón village, in which at least seven people died and 57 were injured.

The attacks came amid an attempt in February to move humanitarian aid from Brazil and Colombia into Venezuela. The government used troops to stop the deliveries. While much of the media attention was focused on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, where aid trucks were set afire amid the melee, the clashes in southern Venezuela were far more lethal.

The confrontation began on Feb. 22, when soldiers pushing into the village were confronted by the Pemón community. According to a United Nations report released July 4, three villagers were killed and 12 were wounded that day. In addition, four soldiers were captured and mistreated by the community.

The following day, the Bolivarian National Guard returned, using “excessive force” in and around the town of Santa Elena with soldiers “shooting indiscriminately from armored vehicles at close range, as well as attacks against a hospital,” the United Nations said.

Due to a lack of medical supplies, the injured had to be transferred more than 120 miles into Brazil for treatment. The area remains militarized, and more than 900 Pemón have fled the village, according to Foro Penal.

Bron: Miami Herald