Discovery of brothers' bodies incites protests against violence, corruption By Ian James The Associated Press April 6, 2006 CARACAS, Venezuela · Hundreds of protesters blocked a main highway Wednesday, chanting, "We want justice!" after the slaying of three Canadian brothers set off an outcry against violent crime and police corruption. The bodies of the three Faddoul brothers -- John, 17, Kevin, 13, and Jason, 12, with dual Canadian-Venezuelan citizenship -- were found Tuesday near an electrical tower outside of Caracas, more than a month after they were kidnapped at a bogus police checkpoint on their way to school. They were shot in the head and neck. Authorities also found the body of their driver, Miguel Ribas, 30. In a country facing rampant crime, the killings drew widespread mourning and a sudden outburst of frustration at the day-to-day anxiety felt by Venezuelans about their security. "Yesterday, it was them. Tomorrow, we don't know which one of us it could be," said protester Maria Luisa Romero, 39. "They were innocent children beginning to live their lives. That's why we're here demanding justice." Some 400 demonstrators froze traffic on a major highway by lying on the asphalt and sitting in circles holding placards, while burning tires blocked an onramp. A Venezuelan photographer working for the local El Mundo daily newspaper was killed near the Central University of Venezuela as college students protested, said Jose Gregorio Yepez, an El Mundo editor. Jorge Aguirre and a driver were approaching the university to cover the protest when an unidentified man on a motorcycle tried to stop their car, then shot the photographer and fled, Yepez said. Elsewhere, 200 protesters gathered in front of the Justice Ministry, demanding police forces be purged and accusing authorities of failing to fight crime. Elizabeth Acevedo, a 40-year-old mother of two, blasted Justice Minister Jesse Chacon for calling on people not to turn the tragedy into a political issue. "This is political. The police kill and they do nothing about it," she said. "I feel the pain of impotence." Dozens of cars and buses passing through downtown Caracas had "mourning" scrawled in white paint across their windows. Earlier, dozens of the boys' classmates -- some with black ribbons tied on their wrists -- shed tears after a Mass at their Catholic school. The Venezuela-born brothers lived with their Canadian father and Venezuelan mother, both of Lebanese descent, in a gated community in an affluent neighborhood in Caracas. The family also lived briefly in Windsor, Ontario, where they have relatives. Officials said the kidnappers demanded more than $4.5 million -- a ransom too steep for the parents to pay, their lawyer, Santiago Georges, said. Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez indicated authorities were getting close to identifying the culprits. Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Looks like they got the government they deserve . . . I don't doubt that Chavez will have the protesters "silenced" soon.
gosh... lets "saddamize" them !!! we can pretend we are their liberators huh? nevermind all the excess crude over there... DONT LOOK THAT WAY!!!!!!
They sure did. We need to be smart and no matter how bad it gets stay out of it, Chavez will only be killing his own people so it's none of our damn business.
Dddooo, If everybody has universal healthcare as you say, how come we have so much of Latin America, many Canadians, Chinese, and all of the Jordanians, Saudia Arabias and Dubais with $$ and permission to leave their country, coming here for ours??? Is this the kind of universal health care system you want for the US, so the citizens will have to go to overseas for nursing homes and surgeries??