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A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 22 June 2019
UN human rights chief meets with Venezuela's Guaidó, Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) missioner also appeared
— The United Nations' top deeply concerned about
human rights official met human rights abuses, not-
Friday in Caracas with Ven- ing that she spent several
ezuelan opposition leader hours on her visit this week
Juan Guaidó, who is locked with victims of violations
in a prolonged struggle and their relatives. She pro-
with President Nicolás Mad- posed opening a tempo-
uro for control of the crisis- rary office in the country to
wracked country. monitor human rights issues
Emerging from the meet- and allow her representa-
ing, Guaidó said he spoke tives to visit other regions,
with U.N. High Commis- Guaidó added.
sioner for Human Rights Earlier this year, Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet about issued a tough statement
the need to expel Maduro criticizing Maduro's govern-
from power and end Ven- ment for harsh crackdowns
ezuela's "suffering." on dissenters and reports of
"May this visit serve to bring extrajudicial killings of poor,
solutions to the catastro- unarmed residents at the
phe that this country is ex- hands of security forces.
periencing," Guaidó said "I am also deeply con-
on the steps of the oppo- U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, center, walks with Venezuela's self cerned about the shrinking
sition-controlled National proclaimed President Juan Guaido, left, on the steps of the national assembly in Caracas, Ven- of the democratic space,
Assembly. "This visit should ezuela, Friday, June 21, 2019. especially the continued
serve to reinvigorate the Associated Press criminalization of peace-
fight in Venezuela." ful protest and dissent," she
Maduro, who will meet South American country as experiencing a severe po- versation with Bachelet, said in the March state-
with Bachelet later in the chief of the U.N. watchdog litical and economic crisis Guaidó said he empha- ment.
afternoon, maintains that comes amid heightened that has driven a stagger- sized that Maduro's gov- Bachelet has already met
his rival's efforts have been international pressure on ing 4 million people to flee. ernment is still holding two socialist party boss Diosda-
part of a U.S.-backed coup Maduro for allegedly si- The government struggles opposition lawmakers in jail do Cabello, the Supreme
intended to remove him lencing opponents with jail, daily to keep the lights on in addition to nearly 700 Court head and attorney
from office and exploit the torture and excessive vio- and provide reliable drink- activists considered to be general, and she will com-
nation's vast oil. lence. A once-wealthy oil ing water. political prisoners. plete her three-day visit by
Bachelet's first trip to the nation, Venezuela is now In his closed-door con- Guaidó said the high com- speaking with Maduro.q

Researchers confirm 1,600 secret graves in Mexico since 2006

By MICHAEL KRUMHOLTZ the government is work- are in Mexico. Roberto Ca-
Associated Press ing on a digital database brera Alfaro, her predeces-
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- of disappeared persons, sor at the national search
can researchers said Thurs- and said the president will commission, estimated ear-
day they have confirmed meet Monday with families lier this year that the figure
the existence of 1,606 se- to update them on his ad- likely is more than 40,000.
cret graves containing ministration's work to find The 11-year period covered
2,489 bodies from 2006 and identify their missing by the study begins with
to 2017, but that may just relatives. 2006, when then-president
scratch the surface of the "We need to have this infor- Felipe Calderón launched
true numbers behind what mation to give answers to a militarized effort against
the study called a "building family members waiting on drug cartels that set off an
phenomenon." their loved ones," Quintana increase in killings.
"Those are not all the graves said. Researchers said the
... Unfortunately, it's just a She also highlighted a lack alarming numbers of secret
fraction," Denise González, of resources, saying the graves in the country are
lead coordinator of the In this Oct. 15, 2018 file photo, wooden signs mark clandestine commission has a "one- indicative of the rampant
graves where almost 300 were found in Colinas de Santa Fe,
study, said at press con- Veracruz state, Mexico. person team" in its archives violence that goes unpun-
ference at Mexico City's Associated Press department and is short on ished.
Iberoamericana University. personnel to carry out the "It is reflective of the level
The study found that Tam- say shows the "deteriora- los Dorantes of the human exhumations. of social decay and dehu-
aulipas, Guerrero, Vera- tion of security" in Mexico. rights organization Article Leticia Hidalgo, whose manization that the coun-
cruz, Sinaloa and Zacate- They criticized the country's 19, which participated in son disappeared in Nuevo try has reached," the report
cas were the states with Attorney General's Office the study. León in 2011, asked Quin- reads.
the most reported cases and said the government Karla Quintana, the gov- tana to locate those like López Obrador's adminis-
of secret graves, all places gave inconsistent statistics ernment's national search her son. tration released its first of-
with a strong presence of on secret graves and bod- commissioner, said the new "We don't have any more ficial report over the secret
organized crime groups. ies recovered. administration of President time. ... We urge you to go graves in May. Authorities
University investigators "The Attorney General's Andrés Manuel López Ob- out and look," Hidalgo said. reported having found 222
worked alongside local hu- Office is actively violating rador inherited a "forensic Quintana said she does not of them with 337 bodies be-
man rights' groups to con- the rights of information emergency" when he took know exactly how many tween the administration's
duct the study that they and of memory," said Car- office Dec. 1. She added disappeared people there first day though May 13.q