Bassil Da Costa (

Guatire Guatire is a city in Miranda (state), Miranda, Venezuela. In 2006, its population has been estimated at 200,417. Today, Guatire has virtually merged with its neighbour, Guarenas forming the Guarenas-Guatire conurbation. Located in Miranda Sta ...

, 7 May 1990 –

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (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 northern p ...

, 12 February 2014) was a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n university student, killed during the

2014 protests Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrel ...

against the

Venezuelan government Venezuela is a federal presidential republic. The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembl ...

, the first death of the wave of protests. Da Costa was a marketing student at the

Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt was named in honor of Alexander von Humboldt, the German naturalist and explorer. UAH is a Venezuelan private university sponsored by the Civil Association Educational Humboldt, created by the National University ...

Death

On 12 February 2014, Youth Day in Venezuela, various parties in opposition to the

and student groups marched in the entire country in protest against the government. In Caracas, the protest march was held from

Plaza Venezuela Plaza Venezuela (Venezuela Square in Spanish) is a public square located in Los Caobos neighborhood, Caracas, Venezuela. It was inaugurated in 1940 and is situated in the geographic center of Caracas. Its place for many landmarks of Caracas, inc ...

to the

Public Ministry Public ministry may refer to: Christianity *Ministry of Jesus, Public ministry of Jesus *Minister (Christianity), Public ministers in Christian churches, such as pastors and priests. This term is used especially in State Churches or churches derived ...

's offices in the city's downtown. An hour after the march ended, clashes occurred in the La Candelaria Parish; protesters armed with rocks, bottles, fireworks and slingshots skirmished with authorities who responded with tear gas. During the confrontations, Da Costa was shot and killed. On 13 February 2014, President

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

said Da Costa and Montoya were killed by the same person and that the murders were part of the "violence generated by the opposition". The secretary of the

Democratic Unity Roundtable The Democratic Unity Roundtable (, MUD) was a catch-all electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela in the 2010 Venezue ...

(MUD), the opposition coalition,

Ramón Guillermo Aveledo Ramón Guillermo Aveledo (born 22 August 1950) is a Venezuelan politician, academic, businessman, and columnist, and former Executive Secretary of the opposition electoral coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable. A former congressman, he was Preside ...

, rejected President Maduro's statements and maintained the protesters were not ill-intended, while hinting at possible government infiltrates in the march.

Investigations

The first investigations made by the

Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas The Scientific, Penal and Criminalistic Investigation Service Corps (, CICPC) is Venezuela's largest national police agency, responsible for criminal investigations and Forensic science, forensic services. It replaced the Cuerpo Técnico de Pol ...

(CICPC) identified at least three members of the

Bolivarian Intelligence Service The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 2012 and is dependent on Vice President Delcy Rodríg ...

(SEBIN) who had shot against protesters near the Public Ministry offices the day of the march, amongst them the alleged killer of Da Costa. Days later, ''

Últimas Noticias ''Últimas Noticias'' is a tabloid newspaper in Venezuela founded in 1941 after pro-freedom measures implemented by President Isaías Medina Angarita and was the largest circulated newspaper in Venezuela prior to 2014. ''Le Monde'' and Reuters d ...

'' published the results of an investigative work on the murders, in which it claimed to have discovered both men in uniform and civilians had shot against the protesters on 12 February. In April 2014, six SEBIN officers were apprehended and the alleged murderer of Da Costa was formally indicted. The trial on Da Costa and Montoya's murders was delayed in various occasions, until it finally started on 16 June 2015, over a year after they took place. One of the SEBIN officers was sentenced to prison in 2016.

Notes

References

External links

The Day Journalism Defeated the State
{{DEFAULTSORT:Da Costa, Bassil 1990 births 2014 deaths People from Caracas Murdered Venezuelan students People murdered in Venezuela Victims of police brutality 2014 murders in Venezuela 2014 Venezuelan protests Protest-related deaths Universidad Alejandro de Humboldt alumni Filmed killings by law enforcement People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Venezuela

Death

Investigations

See also

Notes

References

External links