Jairo Johan Ortiz Bustamante (2 September 1997-6 April 2017) was a Venezuelan student. Ortiz was the first person killed during the 2017 protests in Venezuela.

Killing

Jairo Ortiz was a student at the Universidad Experimental Politécnica (UNEXPO) in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. On 6 April 2017, he was shot while participating in a demonstration held in Carrizal, in

Miranda state Miranda State ( es, link=no, Estado Miranda, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela and the second most populous after Zulia State. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,675,165 residents. It also has the greatest Hu ...

, dying at the age of 19. The independent investigation carried out by the Public Ministry determined that the shots were fired by a

Bolivarian National Police The Policía Nacional Bolivariana ( es, Bolivarian National Police, PNB) is Venezuela's national police force, created in 2009. Law enforcement in Venezuela has historically been highly fragmented, and the creation of a national police force was ...

official, Rohenluis Leonel Rojas Mara, who drew his regulation weapon and fired multiple shots at a group of 81 young people, despite the constitutional rule that prohibits the use of firearms to control demonstrations. The killing of Jairo Ortiz was documented in a report by a panel of independent experts from the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

, considering that it could constitute a

crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the c ...

committed in Venezuela along with other killings during the protests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Jairo People shot dead by law enforcement officers Victims of police brutality People murdered in Venezuela 1997 births 2017 deaths 2017 murders in Venezuela Protest-related deaths Murdered Venezuelan students

Killing

See also

References