Neomar Alejandro Lander Armas (17 October 1999 – 7 June 2017) was a Venezuelan barman and protester killed during the

2017 Venezuelan protests The 2017 Venezuelan protests were a series of protests occurring throughout Venezuela. Protests began in January 2017 after the arrest of multiple opposition leaders and the cancellation of dialogue between the opposition and Nicolás Maduro's g ...

Biography

Neomar Lander was a high school graduate and had not been able to enter university because his parents did not have the resources to pay for it. Lander declared that he was not studying because he planned to emigrate to Spain, despite expressing that he did not want to leave the country. In May 2017, Neomar had completed a course at the Venezuelan Barmen Association to become a professional bartender. The same month, a photograph from the

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

agency went viral showing Neomar throwing a stone during the protests in Venezuela in 2017 with a cast on his right foot. At the end of May, his words in a video went viral: "The struggle of few is worth the future of many".

Death

Neomar died on 7 June 2017 during a demonstration on the Francisco de Miranda avenue in the

Chacao municipality Chacao is one of the five political and administrative subdivisions of the city of Caracas, Venezuela. The other four are Baruta, El Hatillo, Libertador and Sucre. This legal entity is known as the Caracas Metropolitan District. Chacao is also o ...

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 ...

, due to an impact to the chest. He was transferred to the El Ávila clinic, where he was admitted without vital signs. Interior Minister

Néstor Reverol Néstor Luis Reverol Torres (born 28 October 1964) holds the position of Minister of the People's Power for Interior Relations and Justice of Venezuela and is currently Commander General of the National Guard of Venezuela. On 3 August 2016, he w ...

claimed that Neomar died while trying to activate a homemade mortar, but recorded videos of his death indicate that Lander fell after being hit by a tear gas bomb fired by

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 ...

officials. On the night of his death, a man posing as Neomar's father and Zugeimar Armas' husband declared on the Venezuelan state television channel that Lander was paid to attend the marches. The next day Zugeimar denied the statements, showing who was Neomar's real father, that it was not the man who appeared in "NotiPatria", and that the protesters attended the marches on their own free will, since "80% of Venezuelans they were against the government". On 13 July, a night march was summoned in honor of those killed during the protests, including Lander, marching to the places where the demonstrators died. Dissident CICPC inspector

Óscar Pérez Oscar Perez, Oscar Pérez and Óscar Pérez may refer to: * Óscar Pérez (footballer, born 1973), Mexican football (soccer) player * Óscar Pérez (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football (soccer) player * Óscar Pérez Solís (1882–1951), Spa ...

made a surprise appearance in the march, before leaving and disappearing. The killing of Neomar Lander 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.

Legacy

During the

2018 Nicaraguan protests The 2018 Nicaraguan protests began on 18 April 2018 when demonstrators in several cities of Nicaragua began protests against the social security reforms decreed by President Daniel Ortega that increased taxes and decreased benefits. After five ...

, Neomar's face was

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

ed on various walls in

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

with his best known quote: "The struggle of few is worth the future of many." The Chacao Municipality Mayor's Office named the underground connection between Avenida Francisco de Miranda and Avenida Libertador to the west of the city as the Neomar Lander Tunnel in his honor, just in the place where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lander, Neomar 1999 births 2017 deaths Venezuelan activists Filmed killings Victims of police brutality People murdered in Venezuela 2017 Venezuelan protests 2017 murders in Venezuela Deaths by tear gas canister Protest-related deaths

Biography

Death

Legacy

See also

References