HomeNewsBrief5 Killed in Police Clash With Venezuela Political Collectives
BRIEF

5 Killed in Police Clash With Venezuela Political Collectives

COLECTIVOS / 9 OCT 2014 BY ELYSSA PACHICO EN

A bloody clash between police and militant collectives in Caracas may feed suspicions that the collectives played a role in the recent dramatic murder of a Venezuelan Congressman, and raises the specter of more violence ahead as the investigation into the murder continues. 

The gunfight reportedly broke out as police were attempting to raid a house located along a central Venezuelan highway. Five members of two militant collectives, known as the 5th of March (5 de Marzo) and Shield of the Revolution (Escudo de la Revolucion), were left dead, including two collective leaders. The brother of one of these leaders said the victim, Jose Odreman, was shot 40 times, reported El Nacional

El Nacional reported that residents of the building where the shootout took place said that there was no "confrontation" with police: the officials had killed the members of the collective without being fired at first. The national police agency, CICPC, said that those killed were "criminals."

The head of Venezuela's national police agency said that the raid was not connected to investigations into the death of Congressman Robert Serra, reported El Nacional. Serra was the youngest member of Congress and a star of the ruling socialist party, until he was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death in his home on October 1.

InSight Crime reported last week that Serra was believed to have ties to the various militant collectives that operate in Caracas. Odreman, the collective leader slain in the recent raid, had published a photo of himself alongside Serra on Twitter about a month before Serra's death (see image above).

InSight Crime Analysis

Some of these militant collectives began forming in Caracas' poorer, outer neighborhoods as early as the 1970s in response to the lack of proper policing. Under President Hugo Chavez's government, many collectives began receiving weapons and training from the state. Today, the collectives by and large support the "Bolivarian Revolution," and several of them were accused of participating in violent attacks against protesters earlier this year, in close collaboration with security forces.

 SEE ALSO: Venezuela News and Profiles

This recent confrontation with the collectives may be akin to stirring up a hornet's nest. According to El Nacional, the 5th of March collective was a coalition of 100 smaller collectives. Those that are armed may yet react aggressively to the death of their leader. The government also risks alienating those in the communities that support the collectives, as many view the collectives as the most reliable local security force to protect them from criminals.  

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 7 JUL 2022

Ahmet Yilmaz* shouldn’t be in a dangerous profession. He’s not a cop or a criminal. Ahmet is a banana importer…

ELITES AND CRIME / 17 NOV 2021

Armed men ambushed a group of gold miners near the Corre Gente mine in the municipality of Sifontes, near to…

PRISONS / 24 SEP 2021

Weeks after reports emerged of the suicide of a notorious Venezuelan prison gang boss in Colombia, authorities have confirmed the…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…