Maduro to “Remove Criminals” from State Housing after Deadly Shootout

The Venezuelan head of state responded to a shoot-out at a government housing complex on Sunday by confirming that all “criminals” would be removed from government provided houses. The incident was described as a “massacre” by the national press, and led to the deaths of 9 people.

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Caracas, April 29th 2015 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, has vowed to remove all “criminals” from government provided housing after a gun attack at a state housing complex on Sunday left 9 people dead.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, armed men are reported to have stormed a state housing complex in Ocumare del Tuy, Miranda State, opening fire on a group of people who were in the middle of party. Nine people, including five brothers, were killed in the incident, which authorities believe was a revenge attack between rival narco-trafficking gangs. 

“The community must not be infiltrated by narco-traffickers, nor criminals, no! The complexes that we are handing over have to be peaceful territories, whoever is involved in crime, I have given the order for your houses to be taken away,” stated the president. 

In a bid to reinforce the measure, Maduro confirmed that he had ordered a special police task force to be sent into Miranda state and specifically into Ocumare del Tuy. 

He also accused the international rightwing of financing a territorial drugs war between rival gangs in Venezuela and charged the opposition governor of Miranda state, Henrique Capriles Radonski, of failing to provide adequate security measures for citizens. 

“Miranda is the most violent state in the country, the state where there are the most kidnappings, homicides and most drug trafficking in the country, why might that be?” stated the president. 

In 2011, the government announced the beginning of its “Great Housing Mission” which aims to build homes for the millions of vulnerable Venezuelans who currently live in unsafe and unsuitable conditions. 

Since then, more than 700,000 homes have been handed over to Venezuelan families. The government is striving to build an ambitious 3 million homes before 2017 as part of the mission. 

“I’m not going to accept a single criminal in the housing mission. It is being built with such effort and sacrifice, and then one drugs gang comes along in conflict with another,” said Maduro. 

The president went on to inform the public that he was dedicated to reaching the stated goal of 3 million houses and he would tackle criminality hand in hand with organised communities and the Bolivarian National Police. 

“I beseech you all for peace in the community, for the peace of our children and our youth,” he added.