Human rights groups uncovered a series of executions...

Human rights groups uncovered a series of executions and beatings allegedly carried out by the Venezuelan military in an attempt to stop widespread looting in the wake of the deadly floods and mudslides that rocked Venezuela between December 17 and 30 December 1999. Eyewitness reports from the coastal state of Vargas were compiled by human rights groups. According to the reports, the majority of the murders were carried out with rifles equipped with silencers, or with blunt instruments. Roger Cedeno, the state ombudsman, told a news agency: `Since December 17, we have received estimates that more than 60 people died in mass executions.' He said that various branches of the armed forces were involved in `grave excesses', and added that `the worst were committed by the army's soldiers'.