Bassil Da Costa (
Guatire
Guatire is a city in Miranda (state), Miranda, Venezuela. In 2006, its population has been estimated at 200,417. Today, Guatire has virtually merged with its neighbour, Guarenas forming the Guarenas-Guatire conurbation.
Located in Miranda Stat ...
, 7 May 1990 –
Caracas, 12 February 2014) was a
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n university student, killed during the
2014 protests
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
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against the
Venezuelan government
Venezuela is a federal presidential republic.
The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Asse ...
, the first death of the wave of protests.
Da Costa was a marketing student at the
Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt in
Caracas.
[
]
Death
On 12 February 2014, Youth Day in Venezuela, various parties in opposition to the Venezuelan government
Venezuela is a federal presidential republic.
The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Asse ...
and student groups marched in the entire country in protest against the government. In Caracas, the protest march was held from Plaza Venezuela
Plaza Venezuela (Venezuela Square in Spanish) is a public square located in Los Caobos neighborhood, Caracas, Venezuela. It was inaugurated in 1940 and is situated in the geographic center of Caracas.
Its place for many landmarks of Caracas, inc ...
to the Public Ministry's offices in the city's downtown.[ The demonstration itself went smoothly, but after it was finished conflict arose with a shootout in which Da Costa and Juan Montoya, member of a ]colectivo
''Colectivo'' (English: collective bus) is the name given in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay to a type of public transportation vehicle, especially those of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires. The name comes from ''vehículos de tran ...
, were killed.
On 13 February 2014, President Nicolás Maduro stated Da Costa and Montoya were killed by the same person, and that the murders were part of the violence generated by the opposition on 12 February 2014.[ The Secretary of the ]Democratic Unity Roundtable
The Democratic Unity Roundtable ( es, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, MUD) was a catch-all electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party of ...
(MUD), the opposition coalition, Ramón Guillermo Aveledo, rejected President Maduro's statements and maintained the protesters were not ill-intended, while hinting at possible government infiltrates in the march.[
]
Investigations
The first investigations made by the (CICPC) identified at least three members of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) who had shot against protesters near the Public Ministry offices the day of the march, amongst them the alleged killer of Da Costa.[
Days later, the independent newspaper '']Últimas Noticias
''Últimas Noticias'' is a daily newspaper in Venezuela, currently British-owned and characterized by ''The Guardian'' as a "pro-Maduro tabloid".
''Últimas Noticias'' was founded in Caracas on 16 September 1941 after the pro-freedom measures i ...
'' published the results of an investigative work on the murders, in which it claimed to have discovered both men in uniform and civilians had shot against the protesters on the 12th of February.[ In April 2014, six SEBIN officers were apprehended and the alleged murderer of Da Costa was formally indicted.][
The trial on Da Costa and Montoya's murders was delayed in various occasions,][ until it finally started on 16 June 2015, over a year after they took place.][
]
See also
*Génesis Carmona
Génesis Cristina Carmona Tovar (20 September 1991 – 19 February 2014) was a Venezuelan fashion model, beauty queen, and college student who was killed while protesting against the Government of Venezuela during the 2014 Venezuelan protests. ...
*Timeline of the 2014 Venezuelan protests
The 2014 Venezuelan protests began in February 2014 when hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans protested due to high levels of criminal violence, inflation, and chronic scarcity of basic goods because of policies created the Venezuelan government ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Da Costa, Bassil
1990 births
2014 deaths
People from Caracas
Murdered Venezuelan students
People murdered in Venezuela
Victims of police brutality
2014 murders in Venezuela
Deaths by firearm in Venezuela
People shot dead by law enforcement officers
2014 Venezuelan protests