Crossfire

Last Thursday morning, we received a message from my sister-in-law asking us what was going on. She has lived in Spain for many years. And she had read on Twitter that Caracas had been under crossfire for hours from armed clashes between criminal gangs and state security forces. The clashes were taking place in the southwest of the city.

These clashes aren't isolated events in the city. There are huge sectors of popular slums that are under the control of criminal gangs. They are species of States within the State. On this occasion, as in the others, we couldn't give her much more information than she already had.

Local TV here is in the hands of the government and most of the traditional media as well. For years, our source of information has been social media, word of mouth, and a few digital media that have also been exposed to censorship.

With these confrontations, the gangs attempt to expand their territories. And also confront the police forces that sometimes have committed abuses and violations of the human rights of the inhabitants of the slums. The subject is quite complex. And I won't try to give a deep explanation of the reasons because I feel I can't.

These gangs have weapons of war. For years, they've armed themselves under the accomplice gaze of the government.

The truth is that for days, I've been reading testimonies on Twitter from people who live in the affected areas, experiencing moments of anguish. Even in Noise, I've read some of them.

This time the clashes had left the slums and spread to other nearby areas. The main highway in the city was blocked in some parts of its route.

My husband saw a friend who lives in a neighborhood called El Paraiso, near the site of the conflict and he told him that they were terrified. They heard nonstopping gunshots and explosions for hours. And the fear of a stray bullet made them sleep at night with their mattresses on the floor.

Meanwhile, the rest of the city continued its life as if nothing was happening. We have become so used to the abnormality of what happens here. Few things amaze us and take us out of our routines unless we are directly affected.

A bit of Magic Realism

For days, the government has been silent. As if nothing was happening, ignoring the harsh reality that an immense sector of the city was mired in violence. But finally, last Friday, government spokesmen said that armed gangs supported by groups seeking to destabilize the country were trying to create anxiety and scare the population with violence.

The government announced measures of force to capture the leaders of the criminal gang involved in the confrontations. This gang reigns in a sector called Cota 905. We'd seen some images on social media of people leaving the slums while police forces swept the area looking for the gang leaders.

In social media, we also saw the picture of the capture of which they said was the pet of the gang's leader, a small cunagüaro. Weapons were seized, there were arrests, and we don't know what else happened. But the truth is that none of the leaders of the gang was arrested, just their pet.

An unfortunate coincidence and a clarification

The leader of the Cota 905 gang has the nickname of the Koki. But we didn't know that. People had long been calling him Coqui.

Of course, you all know that my nickname is CoquiCoin. And I've used it not just here and in Noise, but on many other sites on the internet, including Twitter. Coqui is an affectionate diminutive that my cousins ​​used of my nickname since I was a child. But in all this time, many people have made me some jokes about this coincidence. Some time ago, someone on Twitter even said that Koki could launch its own cryptocurrency CoquiCoin and my nickname on Twitter showed up among those jokes.

A few days ago, photos of the well-known leader of the gang appeared on social media clarifying that his name was Koki and not Coqui.

Final thoughts

The violence that Caracas is experiencing these days isn't an isolated event. It often happens in the slums of the city.

Most of these gangs are supported by the communities where they operate. These areas are often victims of human rights violations by state security forces. The inhabitants of these sectors suffer arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, and evictions frequently. In response to the abusive and unjust force to which they are subjected, the inhabitants of the slums support these armed gangs as a way to guarantee their "peace and security".

The gangs make the slum their territory. They directly influence the economy of the area and its security. Something like what happened in Medellín, Colombia, in the 80s, when the well-known drug dealer Pablo Escobar was perceived by many as a benefactor.

This reality occurs in many other Latin American cities. Violence, misery, drug, trafficking weapons are the evils of our continent. But also, corruption and the excessive use of force by those in power, who unleash their brute force on thousands of defenseless people, violating their human rights. Whenever I think about this, it comes to my mind the excellent film of the Brazilian director Jose Padilla called Tropa de Élite.

For now, in Caracas, it seems that there is a tense calm. But the authorities recommend not going out. Especially in the areas around the conflict, as the members of the gang are still free.

Our life goes by like every day, but today I haven't been able to stop thinking about all those people who continue to be in anguish with fear of leaving their homes. A situation that escapes our understanding and that sooner or later will repeat itself.

If you've reached this point, thank you for reading me and your support.

To all my wonderful sponsors, thank you all!

Images in Cota 905 were taken by my husband during a film shooting in 2005.

Until next time. :)

July 10, 2021