The underworld carries 371 assaults on Venezuelan universities in two years

The non-governmental organization Aula Abierta reported on Wednesday that in the last two years it has computed at least 371 episodes of underworld attack against several universities in Venezuela, including the Central (UCV), the country's main and world heritage site.

“Venezuela has accumulated 371 episodes of the underworld attack on universities from the beginning of the pandemic decree, on March 13, 2020, until mid-March,” the NGO said in a press release.

He argued that this “high number of incidents of insecurity causes concern”, since “they not only affect structurally, but also the functioning of the country's universities in teaching, research and extension activities, as well as the educational process in which thousands of students and professors will participate Venezuelans”.

“The university community and Aula Abierta are also concerned about the position of the State. The authorities, by taking a position of inaction in the face of these crimes that attack universities, violate the Inter-American Principles on Academic Freedom and University Autonomy,” the organization said.

In 2022, Aula Abierta recorded 24 incidents of insecurity in six universities in the country, of which 11 were at the University of the Andes (ULA), eight at the Universidad de Oriente (UDO), two at the Central University of Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA), and one at both the University of Zulia (LUZ), at the Central University of Venezuela ( UCV), and at the Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University (UPEL).

The NGO explained that, from 1 January to 15 March, 17 crimes have been committed “that threaten the development of teaching, two against research, three against student services and two against university departments”.

In 2021, 156 incidents of insecurity were documented in 16 autonomous universities in Venezuela.

In the case of 2020, the organization recorded reports of inaction by State authorities to investigate and punish those responsible for the at least 191 incidents of insecurity that occurred between March and December of that year.

Venezuela's universities have been hit in recent years, mainly by budget suffocation and by the systematic theft of furniture and equipment.

Cecilia García Arocha, rector of the UCV, denounced that this study center “has been subject to poor budgets for more than 12 years that have deteriorated” the facilities.

The deterioration of universities was reflected in the collapse of a section of the concrete roof of a 300-meter UCV corridor, in June 2020.

The study houses suspended night shifts to avoid further security incidents in the dark, when the risks are greatest.

(With information from EFE)

KEEP READING: