Underage deaths by Venezuelan police increased 55 percent

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 26 (UPI) — In Venezuela, deaths of children and adolescents perpetrated by police increased 55 percent from 2013 to 2014.

About 912 minors were killed in Venezuela last year. That’s about 76 deaths each month, or two deaths per day, according to Cecodap, a human rights organization in Venezuela.

About 90 percent of the victims are males between the ages of 13 to 17.

Of the total death toll, about 126 were killed by police or military personnel — about 14 percent of the total and 55 percent higher than 2013’s toll of 70, according to a report by El Universal.

Direct confrontations accounted for about 80 percent of the deaths by police, while the remaining 20 percent are attributed to executions.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro recently ordered an investigation into the death of a 14-year-old student who died during a protest on Tuesday.

The student, Kluiver Roa, died after being hit in the head by a rubber bullet. A police officer, Javier Mora Ortiz, 23, has been arrested.

“[We] urge for a review of the decision of the Ministry of Defense on the use of deadly weapons in [protests]. Security officials should use dialogue to resolve conflicts,” Fernando Pereira, children’s rights activist and general coordinator for Cecodap, said. “What happened in San Cristobal to the youth of 14 years was an abuse of power. The officer acted viciously against the boy.”

#Venezuela: 14-year-old boy killed during anti-government protest. http://t.co/qpIrwqbRmE pic.twitter.com/jYzDIPqsvv— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) February 25, 2015

Pereira also urged the creation of a national plan to protect children under 18 years, along with further enforcement of disarming the general population.

The majority of youth deaths, about 692, occurred in the context of social violence; deaths related to sustained armed confrontations between youth gangs, resistance to robberies and other similar situations.

In 2014, about 44 youths died due to familial violence, 23 due to crimes of passion, 22 from accidental weapons discharge and five were killed in schools.