SEBIN
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The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Spanish: Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, 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 Rodríguez.
SEBIN has been described as the secret police force of the Venezuelan government; they have an extensive record of human rights violations, including recent allegations of torture and murder of political opponents.
Background edit
History edit
The predecessor of SEBIN was established in March 1969 with the name of DISIP, Dirección Nacional de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención ("National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services"), by then-president Rafael Caldera, replacing the Dirección General de Policía (DIGEPOL).
Human Rights Watch wrote in 1993 that DISIP was involved in targeting political dissenters within Venezuela and was involved in abusive tactics. In their 1997 and 1998 reports, Amnesty International also detailed human rights violations by DISIP, including unlawful detention of Venezuelan human rights activists.
In 1999, President Hugo Chávez began the restructuring of DISIP, with commanders and analysts being selected for their political attributes and rumors of some armed civilian groups gaining credentials from such actions. A retired SEBIN commissioner explained that there began to be "biased and incomplete reports, tailored to the new ears, that began to proliferate and ultimately affects the ability of the institution to process information and know what happens".
On December 4, 2009, President Chávez, during a swearing-in ceremony for the high command of the recently created Bolivarian National Police (Policía Nacional Bolivariana), announced the change of name of DISIP, with immediate effect, to Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia, or SEBIN).
The restructuring of SEBIN was completed in 2013 with one of its goals to guarantee the "continuity and consolidation of the Bolivarian Revolution in power". In the beginning of the 2014–15 Venezuelan protests, SEBIN agents opened fire on protesters which resulted in the deaths of two and the dismissal of Brigadier General Manuel Gregorio Bernal Martinez days later.
Under the Nicolás Maduro presidency, a building that was originally intended to be a subway station and offices in Plaza Venezuela was converted into the headquarters for SEBIN. Dubbed "La Tumba", or "The Tomb", by Venezuelan officials, political prisoners are held five stories underground in inhumane conditions at freezing temperatures and with no ventilation, sanitation, or daylight. The cells are two by three meters that have a cement bed, security cameras and barred doors, with each cell aligned next to one another so there are no interactions between prisoners. Such conditions have caused prisoners to become very ill though they are denied medical treatment.
Denounces of torture in "The Tomb", specifically white torture, are also common, with some prisoners attempting to commit suicide. Such conditions are to force prisoners to plead guilty to crimes they are accused of. according to NGO Justice and Process. The torture of political prisoners has included the capture, mistreatment and in some cases killing of their pets.
Known operations edit
SEBIN operates from two headquarters; El Helicoide the original headquarters of the agency, and "La Tumba", its second and more updated facility.
This federal entity could be considered the only security agency in Venezuela that never participates in any direct involvement with the general public. SEBIN doesn't patrol the public roads, arrest civilians, or do regular law enforcement work like police departments and doesn't participate in any police raids, joint task forces, or operations not related to the ministry of interior and justice. It is an agency that combines their counterparts of the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, and US Marshal core work, such as counterterrorism, intelligence, counterintelligence, government investigations, and background investigations and provides protection/escort for high-ranking government officials, among other federally mandated duties. Officers of this agency are rarely seen in public wearing their full black uniforms; they can be seen providing protection within a few federal buildings throughout the country.
In 2012, Livia Acosta Noguera and at least 10 other SEBIN agents that were allegedly operating under the guise of diplomatic missions left the United States following a controversy involving Acosta. In a Univision documentary, while Acosta was a cultural attaché in Mexico, she allegedly met with Mexican students posing as hackers that were supposedly planning to launch cyberattacks on the White House, the FBI, The Pentagon and several nuclear plants. After an FBI investigation and reactions from members of the United States congress, the United States Department of State declared Acosta persona non grata.
Despite the withdrawal of SEBIN agents, the government of Nicolás Maduro allegedly "maintains a network of spies in the United States, formed by supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution who are paid handsomely," according to former SEBIN officials. The former officials also stated that the contributions of "spies" is maintained by members of the "Patriotas Cooperantes" and from open source contributions, such as from press reports or information posted on websites. The Venezuelan government has used such tactics to reportedly observe government opposition organizations in the United States and has allegedly spied on United States government officials such as Cuban-American senator and representative Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), respectively.
On 15 February 2019, General Director Manuel Cristopher Figuera was sanctioned by the United States for suspected human rights violations and torture. Following the Venezuelan uprising on 30 April 2019, the U.S. removed sanctions against Manuel Cristopher Figuera, who broke ranks with Maduro.