The Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, Diosdado Cabello, said this Tuesday that the murder of journalist Walter Jaimes was “clarified by the police.” At a public event in Mérida, Cabello attributed the crime to “personal reasons” and ruled out any political or governmental link.
Jaimes, 49 years old and recognized for his work in the Tovar del Valle del Mocotíes municipality, disappeared on February 28. His body appeared on March 1 in a wooded area near the El Anís/Puente Viejo sector, on the La Variante highway in the Sucre municipality, Mérida.
His beaten, burned and disfigured face complicated the initial identification, which was confirmed only on March 3. Authorities buried the body in a common grave in Lagunillas, but the family and the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) demanded an exhumation, which was carried out between March 5 and 6 for additional forensic expertise and a dignified burial.
Cabello assured that the Cicpc (Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps) arrested the alleged murderer, who confessed to the crime. In addition, he mentioned the capture of other “responsible parties” and the recovery of a red motorcycle captured on security cameras with Jaimes.
“There is no impunity,” the minister emphasized, while criticizing attempts to link the case to the government or police officials by whom he called opposition “longliners.”
On social networks and alternative reports, questions arise: Why is the “personal” mobile phone presented without public evidence? In recent days, threats had been reported from a local police officer in Tovar, who supposedly disappeared coinciding with the crime. The fact was not clarified.
