CARACAS: A “Chavista” ruling party lawmaker was killed on Wednesday in Venezuela’s latest high-profile violent crime.
Robert Serra and his partner, Maria Herrera, were found dead in his home in the poor La Pastora neighbourhood of the capital, Caracas, state news agency AVN reported.
“They were vilely killed here in their house, a two-storied house, on the ground floor lay the woman and on the upper floor lay Robert Serra,” Interior and Justice Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres told state television.
“I call on members of the PSUV (party), on youth in political parties ... to all citizens, to remain calm as we’ll investigate this fully,” he said.
Serra, 27, was Venezuela’s youngest lawmaker, according to his blog. He had a Master’s Degree in criminology, media reported.
He was seen as one of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela’s (PSUV) most promising young leaders and his death again puts the spotlight on one of the world’s highest homicide rates.
Venezuela’s official homicide rate last year was 39 per 100,000 inhabitants, but non-government organisations put the figure at nearly twice that for a total of 24,000 deaths.
In January, Monica Spear, a soap-opera star and former Miss Venezuela was murdered alongside her former husband.
President Nicolas Maduro says beating violent crime is his first priority, and polls consistently show it to be one of Venezuelans’ main concerns.
This week, the government launched a voluntary disarmament program.
But critics say the government’s anti-crime plans do not tackle root causes, such as impunity for criminals, corrupt courts and complicity by some poorly paid police.
Both the Socialist government and opposition leaders in politically polarised Venezuela lamented Serra’s death.
“Robert, we’ll follow your example, loyal and firm on the road of the revolution you always defended with passion,” Maduro said on Twitter.
