Families of five Venezuelan men who lost their lives during police operations this week have initiated a civil lawsuit against Nicolás Maduro, the nation’s ousted socialist leader. They accuse him of presiding over a police force associated with extrajudicial killings and extensive torture against Venezuelans over the last ten years.
The lawsuit claims Maduro employed the Special Action Forces (FAES), a unit established in 2017 under his regime, to carry out numerous executions, including those of the five victims. By 2022, FAES was replaced by another equally controversial force, but during its active years, it was frequently characterized as the regime’s “death squad” by international media.
The identities of the families bringing this suit are reportedly kept confidential for safety reasons. They are seeking damages from Maduro.
Nicolás Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, where both he and his wife, Cilia Flores, face several drug trafficking charges in a trial overseen by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Maduro, who has been in power since early 2013 following his appointment by Hugo Chávez just before Chávez’s death in December 2012, was arrested by the U.S. military on January 3 as part of an operation sanctioned by President Donald Trump.
In July 2017, Maduro created the FAES, aimed at “combatting crime” in Venezuela. Instead of achieving this goal, the United Nations and various international entities have accused FAES of functioning as another instrument of the Maduro regime’s oppression.
The civil lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, notes that approximately five incidents involving victims and FAES officers occurred between 2017 and 2021. It also alleges that officials from FAES tortured three relatives of the plaintiffs through beatings, restraints, and forcing them to witness murders, all while being denied justice by Venezuela’s judicial system.
According to the complaint, “Maduro utilized FAES as a political tool and a mechanism to exert social control, violently suppress dissent, instill fear in impoverished neighborhoods, and eradicate political opposition.” The complaint adds that FAES is widely regarded as a “death squad” or “extermination group.”
It describes how FAES agents typically invaded homes at dawn, dressed in black and masked, committing extrajudicial killings while staging scenes to make it seem as if victims were resisting authority.
The families claim they have been unable to find justice in Venezuela and lack proper legal recourse due to prosecutors’ refusal to conduct investigations or to hold senior officials accountable.
As of now, Venezuela’s socialist government, which is currently led by “acting president” Delcy Rodriguez, continues to consolidate its power across all branches of government, including the judiciary.
By 2020, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) identified FAES as one of the most implicated police forces in extrajudicial killings and severe human rights violations during so-called “security operations” aimed at combating crime. The UN reported that FAES was responsible for 59 percent of all documented killings by Venezuelan security forces. In an investigation, it was revealed that a convicted criminal had allegedly been recruited into FAES.
The launch of FAES in 2017 coincided with the ending of Operation People’s Liberation (OLP), a series of security operations from 2015 to 2017, which also faced accusations of widespread extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses. OHCHR reported that during the OLP, 413 individuals were killed, often shot at close range.
In 2022, the Venezuelan government shifted from FAES to a new entity known as the Directorate General of Strategic and Tactical Activities (DAET). However, UN experts have pointed out that this new organization is merely a rebranding, as DAET has similarly been implicated in extrajudicial killings and serious human rights violations reminiscent of FAES.
Like FAES, DAET operates under the Bolivarian National Police (PNB), which is overseen by the Venezuelan Ministry of Interior, currently led by Diosdado Cabello, who is believed to have ties to organized crime. Cabello also serves as the secretary general of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which controls the regime’s repressive infrastructure.
