The term “colectivos” has its roots in the Venezuelan guerrilla groups of the 1960s, and it was then appropriated by Chávez’s Bolivarian Revolution. The colectivos (collectives) emerged during Chávez's administration and, with government backing, they spread throughout the country as community organizations supporting the implementation of official aid programs.
They are defined as pro-government armed gangs. Most of them have their own names, flags, and uniforms. According to a report by The New York Times, the colectivos are comprised by civilians with police training and are armed by the authorities; they finance themselves through crimes such as extortion, drug trafficking, and black-market food smuggling, while their activities are tolerated by the Venezuelan regime in exchange for loyalty.
Conversely, opposition leaders call them "paramilitaries." They act as paramilitary groups, often using force to impose their control over neighborhoods and attack government critics, protesters, and journalists who do not support the regime.
They are defined as pro-government armed gangs. Most of them have their own names, flags, and uniforms. According to a report by The New York Times, the colectivos are comprised by civilians with police training and are armed by the authorities; they finance themselves through crimes such as extortion, drug trafficking, and black-market food smuggling, while their activities are tolerated by the Venezuelan regime in exchange for loyalty.
Conversely, opposition leaders call them "paramilitaries." They act as paramilitary groups, often using force to impose their control over neighborhoods and attack government critics, protesters, and journalists who do not support the regime.
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Source: InSight Crime
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Background
In 2001, late President Hugo Chávez set up the “Bolivarian Circles” to build up grass-roots political support. They proved their loyalty and willingness to use violence during the April 2002 demonstrations.
On April 11, 2002, a massive protest, believed to be the single largest political demonstration in Venezuela since 1958, led to the killing of 18 people and wounding of 150-185 people. “The evidence suggests that multiple gunmen -- uniformed and civilian, pro- and anti-Chávez -- fired weapons,” states The New York Times. The Guardian of London reported that “National Guard troops and pro-Chávez gunmen then opened fire on 150,000 anti-government protesters with bullets and tear gas,” and quoted Venezuelan General Guaicaipuro Lameda as he assured that "the Circles began to act like shock troops."
Additionally, an investigation by Human Rights Watch found that most of the civilians who fired guns occupied or had occupied governmental positions at the time. As an example, two of the arrested for the events of April 2002 were Richard Peñalver, a city councilman elected for Chavez’s party allied with the leader of the Bolivarian Circles --Freddy Bernal--, and Rafael Cabrices, who carried a card identifying him as a member of one of Chávez's revolutionary movements at the time of his apprehension. Both went to trial and were acquitted. Peñalver’s defense attorney was today’s President of the Venezuelan Supreme Court appointed by Nicolás Maduro, Mikael Moreno.
Given the events and the civil unrest, the military required then-President Chávez to step down on April 11, which he accepted. However, due to the events that took place from April 12 through April 14, 2002, which included the killing of another 40 to 60 people and the violation of the Constitution by the transitional government—in terms of dissolving the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Attorney General’s Office, among others—the Armed Forces decided to restore Chávez into power under international and popular pressure.
On April 11, 2002, a massive protest, believed to be the single largest political demonstration in Venezuela since 1958, led to the killing of 18 people and wounding of 150-185 people. “The evidence suggests that multiple gunmen -- uniformed and civilian, pro- and anti-Chávez -- fired weapons,” states The New York Times. The Guardian of London reported that “National Guard troops and pro-Chávez gunmen then opened fire on 150,000 anti-government protesters with bullets and tear gas,” and quoted Venezuelan General Guaicaipuro Lameda as he assured that "the Circles began to act like shock troops."
Additionally, an investigation by Human Rights Watch found that most of the civilians who fired guns occupied or had occupied governmental positions at the time. As an example, two of the arrested for the events of April 2002 were Richard Peñalver, a city councilman elected for Chavez’s party allied with the leader of the Bolivarian Circles --Freddy Bernal--, and Rafael Cabrices, who carried a card identifying him as a member of one of Chávez's revolutionary movements at the time of his apprehension. Both went to trial and were acquitted. Peñalver’s defense attorney was today’s President of the Venezuelan Supreme Court appointed by Nicolás Maduro, Mikael Moreno.
Given the events and the civil unrest, the military required then-President Chávez to step down on April 11, which he accepted. However, due to the events that took place from April 12 through April 14, 2002, which included the killing of another 40 to 60 people and the violation of the Constitution by the transitional government—in terms of dissolving the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Attorney General’s Office, among others—the Armed Forces decided to restore Chávez into power under international and popular pressure.
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Early on April 12, 2002, General Lucas Rincón Romero, the highest-ranking Venezuelan military officer at the time, announced the Armed Forces demanded President Chávez to resign and he accepted.
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In the aftermath of the April 2002 events, Chávez decided he needed parallel security structures that could act as a counterweight to the military and the ability to rapidly concentrate political shock troops against opposition demonstrators. Therefore, he resorted to changing the name from Bolivarian Circles to colectivos.
The Colectivos Consolidation
These pro-government enforcement groups came under the umbrella of the government’s “communal councils” in 2006, which granted them legitimacy and power in their areas of influence, as well as state funding and resources, including weapons, according to an investigation by InSight Crime.
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Source: InSight Crime
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In 2017, the operations of colectivos had a new twist. An InSight Crime investigation states that Maduro recruited several members of the colectivos to create the FAES (Special Action Force, per its acronym in Spanish). The FAES was created to “combat crime and terrorism” during this year’s riots, but it became a “little more than an extermination unit” with close to 700 confirmed assassinations in two years of existence.
Currently, experts estimate members of colectivos run from as low as 5,000 to anywhere as high as 100,000.
Currently, experts estimate members of colectivos run from as low as 5,000 to anywhere as high as 100,000.
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Source: InSight Crime
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The Internationalization of Colectivos
In 2018, amid the escalating demonstrations by the people of Venezuela due to the worsening economic, security, and political crisis, government officials in the state of Táchira, including Freddy Bernal (former leader of the Bolivarian Circles) created a “border security colectivo.” It includes members of the Colombian guerrilla groups ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, per its acronym in Spanish) and FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, per its acronym in Spanish). Currently, “it is unknown precisely how many people belong to the Colombian guerrilla groups operating in Venezuela and at the border, but International Crisis Group (ICG) estimates an army of roughly 2,000 in the ELN alone,” assures a report by InSight Crime.
The border security colectivo, along with Venezuelan military and the FAES, prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela on February 23, 2019. They shot at journalists, volunteers, and civilian members in San Antonio del Táchira, on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, and in Santa Elena de Uairén (border with Brazil).
The border security colectivo, along with Venezuelan military and the FAES, prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela on February 23, 2019. They shot at journalists, volunteers, and civilian members in San Antonio del Táchira, on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, and in Santa Elena de Uairén (border with Brazil).
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The scope of the colectivos has spread beyond the Venezuelan borders with Colombia and Brazil. In the US, specifically in Washington D.C., a new group modality emerged when the so-called Embassy Protection Collective began living at the Venezuelan Embassy in the Georgetown neighborhood on April 11, 2019, with “permission” from the Maduro regime in order to protect it from the Venezuelan opposition. This colectivo was comprised by members of American anti-imperialist groups such as Code Pink, Answer Coalition, Popular Resistance, and Black Alliance for Peace.
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Prior to their presence at the Embassy of Venezuela in D.C., many of them visited Venezuela and met with Nicolás Maduro in March 2019.
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Popular Resistance’s Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, among others, posing with Maduro’s Chancellor Jorge Arreaza in Caracas, Venezuela (March 2019).
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Source: VTV
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After 37 days of occupation, federal authorities cleared the Embassy building and took into custody the four remaining Americans from the Embassy Protection Collective on May 16, 2019. They were charged with trespassing and interfering with the U.S. State Department’s protective functions.
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The four individuals who refused to leave the Embassy of Venezuela in D.C. after a trespassing notice was presented. Left to right: Margaret Ann Flowers, Adrianne Pine, David Vernon Paul, and Kevin Bruce Zeese.
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Source: Twitter
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Days after, Ambassador of Venezuela to the US, Carlos Vecchio, showed the poor conditions in which the Embassy Protection Collective left the diplomatic building. Despite the damage they caused to Venezuelan property, Maduro thanked them for their service.
#EnVideo: ASÍ dejaron los usurpadores e invasores del régimen nuestra Embajada en #Washington.@NicolasMaduro es destrucción y corrupción. Por eso la urgencia de cesar la usurpación en #Venezuela. Pronto renacerá un país de progreso para todos. #EmbajadaDeLaLibertad pic.twitter.com/4XXI7HQjBq
— CARLOS VECCHIO (@carlosvecchio) May 27, 2019
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In this tweet, Ambassador of Venezuela to the U.S. Carlos Vecchio states: "This is how the usurpers and invaders of the regime left our Embassy in Washington. Nicolás Maduro is destruction and corruption. That is why there's urgency in ceasing the usurpation in Venezuela. A country of progress will be reborn for all soon."
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Additionally, in July 2019, many members of the Embassy Protection Collective attended the Sao Paulo Forum in Caracas. Venezuelan Deputy Leonardo Regnault denounced that, despite the humanitarian crisis currently affecting the country, Venezuela hosted the event to a cost of $200 million. Nicolás Maduro honored the colectivo in a ceremony and presented them with gifts such as a book about The Liberator Simón Bolívar and a replica of Bolívar’s sword from 1821.
