The irony of seeking shelter and finding bullets
In a twist of fate so absurd that even a soap opera scriptwriter would reject it as implausible, a renowned defender of human rights and a political strategist, who had fled their native country crying out for political persecution, discovered that security is a relative concept. It turns out that escaping an oppressive regime does not exempt you from receiving a dose of lead in an elegant neighborhood in the northeast of Bogotá. The Colombian authorities, with that characteristic phlegm, reported that both were injured in a shooting attack perpetrated by two individuals who, surprise, did not bother to show up. Isn’t the lack of manners of modern hitmen charming?
The scene, worthy of a low-budget movie, took place after noon in the area of Usaquén. Yendri Omar Velásquez Rodríguez and Luis Alejandro Peche Arteaga, who had been living in the Colombian capital for a year, probably thinking that the worst was behind them, were leaving a building when two subjects, whose identity is as mysterious as the final motive for this attack, decided that it was a perfect time to practice target shooting. The police report, with almost bureaucratic prose, considered the incident as an attack apparently carried out by hitmen. Because, of course, when two strangers shoot you in the middle of the street, they are most likely street vendors insisting on their products.
Colombian hospitality includes a visit to the operating room
Velásquez Rodríguez, founder of the Venezuelan Observatory of LGBTIQ+ Violence, and Peche Arteaga, dedicated to political consulting, were quickly transferred to a hospital to receive that medical attention that no one plans to need when choosing a country to exile. They are reportedly “stable,” a word that in this context means “alive, but with a gruesome story to tell.” To make the experience more complete, the first one was scheduled for surgery, because what is an exile without a souvenir surgical intervention?
The Defensoría del Pueblo de Colombia, in a burst of activity, confirmed the attack in a statement on the social network Because nothing motivates institutions more than having to be publicly urged to do their job. “The Venezuelan people deserve to live in peace and democracy,” declared the Ombudsman’s Office, adding that refugees and migrants in Colombian territory must have guarantees and the accompaniment of the authorities. It’s a shame that that company doesn’t include a bulletproof shield.
The most hilarious thing about this tragicomedy is that, according to the police themselves, these two Venezuelan citizens had not registered threats against them in Colombia. They left Venezuela in 2024 alleging “political persecution” and, apparently, thought that once they crossed the border they would stop being interesting. What an adorable mistake. Persecution, it seems, has a very broad concept of jurisdiction.
A resume that seems like an invitation to danger
Let’s delve into the careers of these gentlemen, because you don’t earn an attack like this without a good record. Velásquez Rodríguez, refugee applicant in Colombia, already had experience in unwanted procedures. In August 2024, he was detained at the Simón Bolívar airport in Maiquetía when, according to his relatives, he was on his way to an event on community rights in Switzerland. His six-hour detention and the annulment of his passport were so emblematic that the organization Provea included them in a report on the fragile human rights situation in Venezuela. Of course, being an “emblematic case” is like carrying a target on your back.
For his part, Peche Arteaga is not far behind. He has advised political figures, government institutions and private organizations. He was even an advisor in the National Assembly of Venezuela between 2017 and 2018, according to his professional profile on his social networks (which, with commendable discretion, does not specify which legislator exactly he worked for). In the world of Venezuelan politics, having such a juicy resume is almost like crying out to be included on an undesirable list.
All this occurs against the backdrop of the presidential elections of July 2024 in Venezuela, where the electoral body, in an exercise of originality, declared the leftist Nicolás Maduro the winner for a new term. The response of the opposition was to take to the streets to protest what they called a fraud, which resulted in thousands of detainees at the hands of the Venezuelan security forces. An idyllic panorama, without a doubt, from which our protagonists thought they could escape. The sad moral is that, sometimes, your political past not only does not forget you, but it hires hitmen to pay you a visit.
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