CARACAS – Twelve Venezuelan police officers have been detained for allegedly gunning down the daughter of a Chilean consul in the northwestern city of Maracaibo, the government announced.
Karen Berendique, 19, was killed early Saturday when she was riding in a pick-up truck driven by her 28-year-old brother Fernando, according to the Venezuelan prosecutor’s office.
Jose Humberto Ramirez, national director of the Criminal and Scientific Investigative Corps, to which the detained officers belong, said the police had opened fire when the driver failed to obey the command to stop.
“The driver did not respond to the voice command, and a chase ensued,” Ramirez said, denying earlier reports that the vehicle had crossed a cordoned-off police investigative zone.
The pursuers, who were investigating car theft in the area, allegedly opened fire, and three of the bullets hit Karen Berendique, the official said.
Ramirez expressed regret about what he called “the bad practice” among the agents of reaching for the gun in situations where use of force could be avoided.
In a statement, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry condemned the use of force and demanded “clarification of the facts in the shortest possible term.”
Chilean Consul Fernando Berendique said the incident was a “hard blow” for him.
“I would like to use this opportunity to ask the Venezuelan government to pay more attention to public safety,” the diplomat said.
According to unofficial statistics, last year was one of the bloodiest in Venezuela, with about 19,000 murders reported across the country.