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Police stealing in La Guaira
A video circulated on Venezuelan social media showing neighbors confronting police agents who were caught taking a bag of $100 bills from a collapsed building in La Guaira after the double earthquake struck the region last week.
“Neighbors in La Guaira confronted a CICPC inspector who was stealing dollars from the rubble of the earthquake”
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced a zero-tolerance policy for police officers who dishonor their uniform, saying, "We will be severe in the event of a major upheaval like this, if there are people who try to take advantage of the pain and the property of others."
The CICPC reported the arrest and expulsion of four agents accused of "appropriating economic values found among the rubble" of La Guaira, and it said they now face criminal charges.
The officers were identified as Aguilar Reyes Maya, Fredy Rafael Lugo Oliveros, Roger Andrés Omaña, and Josue Jhonatan Burgos Sánchez, with the case tied to rescue and humanitarian assistance operations.
The Tico Times reported that the incident took place in La Guaira, north of Caracas, where the June 24 earthquakes caused widespread destruction and where videos showed residents surrounding a uniformed officer.
Arrests, expulsion, and outrage
Douglas Rico, the national director of the CICPC, said the officers had strayed from their duties while supporting rescue and humanitarian work and had improperly taken valuables found among collapsed buildings.
The CICPC said the four implicated individuals were permanently removed from their posts, placed under administrative investigation, and handed over to prosecutors with jurisdiction over corruption-related crimes.
The Tico Times described viral footage in which residents accused the officers of taking money from the debris, including a clip where people shout insults as they accuse the officers of taking money from the debris.
Cabello said the government would be "totally intolerant" toward officers who use their uniforms to take advantage of people’s pain or property during the emergency, and he said the detained agents would be judged accordingly.
El Mundo America reported that citizens even tore up cash dollars while shouting that the officer was a "shame" to the country, framing the arrests as a swift official response to the viral confrontation.
What’s at stake next
The arrests unfolded as the official earthquake toll in Venezuela rose to 1,943 deceased and 10,571 injured, with thousands more displaced as rescue and recovery operations continued.
“Four police officers were detained on Tuesday in Venezuela, accused of seizing valuables found among the rubble of collapsed buildings in La Guaira, north of the country and adjacent to Caracas, the state most affected by last week's earthquakes, authorities said”
Orinoco Tribune said the CICPC’s actions followed a complaint tied to officials of the Scientific, Criminal, and Forensic Investigations Corps (CICPC) committing "shameless, indecent, and immoral acts" in an area devastated by the June 24 earthquakes.
The Tico Times reported that the accusations deepened public anger in La Guaira, where civilians and volunteer rescue crews were digging through debris with limited equipment while families continued searching for missing relatives.
Euronews reported that CICPC agents were expelled from the force and awaiting trial after taking cash from the floors of collapsed buildings, and it said Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello promised zero tolerance and warned authorities will be "much stricter" with those who, dressed in uniform, "seek to take advantage of the pain and of others' property".
In the same context of ongoing searches, Orinoco Tribune said the CICPC case became a visible example of corruption during the emergency, with Cabello reiterating that the government will remain completely intolerant of anyone using their uniform to commit acts against morality and the law.
