EspañolLate on Wednesday evening, one of Chavismo’s youth leaders in the National Assembly, Robert Serra, was murdered in his home. The attackers also killed the girlfriend and assistant of the 27-year-old representative from Caracas, María Herrera, as reported by state-sponsored outlet TeleSUR.
The revelation came with the finding of their bodies at 10:30 p.m. local time in La Pastora, a poor barrio in the north of the capital district. Initial reports suggest it was a vicious, bloody attack, presumably with knives, and allegedly carried out by a group of four culprits, as tweeted by El Universal crime reporter Deivis Ramírez Miranda.
Internal Affairs Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres said the motive is not known yet, but he called for calm. He described the attack as vile, with the girlfriend found on the first floor and Serra on the second floor. However, given limited details, he promised an investigation and more details in a few hours.
The crime comes after his bodyguard was also murdered in 2012, with his body found in El Ávilla National Park. As the investigation wore on, the bodyguard’s mother alleged that it was actually someone in the National Assembly and raised suspicion of an internal power dispute.
This is the latest in a string of high-profile murders, including former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear. Awareness of Venezuela’s murder and insecurity crisis has spread to such a degree that residents feel less safe than any population in the world, according to Gallup polling.
President Nicolás Maduro, an ally of Serra, has expressed the pain of this development. Via Twitter, the head of the regime described him as both Chavista and Bolivarian and asked for God’s intercession.
Serra was the youngest legislator at the national level and earned a reputation as a role model for aspiring Chavistas in the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. He studied law and earned a masters degree in criminology at the private and respected Andrés Bello Catholic University, based in Caracas.
Porque crecimos al calor de la revolución demostramos con hechos que seguimos el ejemplo que Chávez nos dió! pic.twitter.com/SJW6Ba9gkg
— Robert Serra (@RobertSerraPSUV) September 29, 2014