TO Runes

The death of “Pimpina” spread on social networks on the night of July 29, when post-election protests engulfed the streets, avenues and neighborhoods of Caracas and various areas of the country. Carapita (Antimano Parish), a popular area of ​​the Venezuelan capital where the young man lived, did not remain indifferent to the mobilizations. Several videos confirm that they also rejected the statement of the National Electoral Council, which declared Nicolás Maduro the presumptive winner through a mass demonstration. In the midst of these statements, “Pimpina” was killed by a bullet to the forehead. The photo of the moment went viral.

Protest in Carapita, west of Caracas, against Maduro’s fraud. pic.twitter.com/5DB6FPfXzk

— We are monitoring (@monitoreamos) July 29, 2024

On Wednesday, the republic’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, showed a photo of “Pimpina” at a press conference broadcast on state television, along with a statement from a dark-skinned, thin young man dressed in red flannel, who claimed that it was he in the image and that he poured tomato sauce on his face to fake his death.

According to Venezuela’s attorney general, the repression does not consist of asking a fat man to lie on the floor so he can be doused with tomato sauce and commit an act of necrophilia.

The death toll has already exceeded ten, and the number of detainees is more than 700.

Kirchnerism in silence. pic.twitter.com/mLo9dQJw4o

— Heirs of Alberdi (@LHDA16) July 31, 2024

But the whole setup turned out to be false. “Pimpina” did exist, his name was Anibal José Romero Salazar, he was 26 years old, a young worker who had left his native Caripito, Ucraine, a few years earlier to earn a living, as confirmed by those close to Victims Monitor.

“Pimpina” had no relatives in Caracas, and only friends and neighbors in the neighborhood reacted to her death. That is why the procedures to remove his body were delayed. This Thursday, his relatives at the Bello Monte morgue began the process of transporting his remains to Sucre.

The worker’s relatives do not know who killed him. However, Marino Alvarado, a member of Provea, indicated that witnesses to the event said that the shots fired in the middle of the demonstration were fired by officials of the Strategic and Tactical Action Directorate (DAET), attached to the Bolivarian National Police (PNB).

The PNB is also allegedly involved in the murder of another protester: Eris Junior José Mendoza Royé, 24, who was killed on the night of the same day of the protests near the Venezuelan Social Security Institute of Antimano, in the same parish where “Pimpina” lived.

According to these witnesses, the police prevented “Pimpina” from being transferred to a medical center for more than half an hour. Although they themselves claimed to have taken him to the Dr. Miguel Pérez Carreño Hospital, where he arrived lifeless, specialized sources confirmed to Victims Monitor that there was no record of his hospitalization.

The young man became the 20th person to die in the post-election protests that have taken place in Venezuela since the night of July 28, after the polling stations closed. All were killed by gunshots.

The capital district, where “Pimpina” was killed, is the region of the country with the highest number of victims: seven in total. It is followed by Aragua with five; Zulia and Miranda, two each; and Tachira, Yaracuy, Carabobo and Bolívar.