VENEZUELA - Update 4/2/2014

[bsteadman1]

Venezuela issues ID cards to curtail food hoarding

Associated Press
Hannah Dreier
4/1/2013

Excerpt:

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Battling food shortages, the government is rolling out a new ID system that is either a grocery loyalty card with extra muscle or the most dramatic step yet toward rationing in Venezuela, depending on who is describing it.

President Nicolas Maduro's administration says the cards to track families' purchases will foil people who stock up on groceries at subsidized prices and then illegally resell them for several times the amount. Critics say it's another sign the oil-rich Venezuelan economy is headed toward Cuba-style dysfunction.

Registration began Tuesday at more than 100 government-run supermarkets across the country. Working-class shoppers who sometimes endure hours-long lines at government-run stores to buy groceries at steeply reduced prices are welcoming the plan.
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View the complete article at:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...UELA_RATIONING

[bsteadman1]

Amnesty Reports Dozens of Venezuela Torture Accounts

Bloomberg News
Nathan Crooks and Corina Pons
4/1/2014

Excerpt:Apr 1, 2014 6:00 AM ET

Amnesty International has received dozens of accounts of torture allegedly carried out by government security forces in Venezuela since protests that have left at least 37 dead broke out in February.

“We’ve received reports from detainees who were forced to spend hours on their knees or feet in detention centers,” Amnesty wrote in a report, adding that other Venezuelans said they suffered sexual abuse and threats of murder. “Inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted on detainees appears to be intended to punish them for their involvement, or suspected involvement, in the protests,” Amnesty said.

The unrest started Feb. 4 when students demonstrated against a lack of security at their universities, sparking nationwide marches organized by political opposition leaders eight days later over issues including rising crime, shortages of basic goods and accelerating inflation. The unrest has persisted almost nightly as protesters clash with the National Guard and armed groups that support President Nicolas Maduro.

The government and members of the opposition must make a commitment to human rights and the rule of law, according to the report, “Venezuela: Human Rights at Risk Amid Protests.” Amnesty based its findings on interviews with government officials, human rights organizations and lawyers, alleged victims of abuse and witnesses of violence during protests.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the report, which was made available in Spanish to reporters yesterday under embargo.

‘Cruel Treatment’

The government is investigating two cases of torture and 75 of “cruel treatment,” the Public Prosecutor’s office said yesterday in an e-mailed report, adding that 17 members of state security forces had been arrested.

“Human rights are respected in Venezuela,” Public Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz said on state television March 28.

More than 550 people have been wounded during the unrest, including anti-government protesters, Maduro supporters and bystanders, according to the London-based human rights watchdog. Eight members of the National Guard are among the dead, Amnesty said.

Amnesty since Feb. 12 has received reports of the use of pellet guns and tear gas shot directly at protesters at short range and without warning. Such practices violate international standards and have resulted in the death of at least one protester, it said. Demonstrators detained by government forces at times have been denied medical care and access to lawyers, Amnesty said.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...-accounts.html