Case of armed children ignites repudiation in Venezuela

The Technical Secretariat of the Venezuelan Presidential Commission for Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Disarmament joined other sectors in repudiating the "circulation of a series of pictures taken in the 23 de Enero neighborhood (west Caracas), in which a group of children, with their faces covered, brandish alleged assault rifles... The use of children to encourage behaviors marked by negative values such as violence and the use of weapons is ethically and morally reprehensible," said a statement released by pro-government media.

Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice Tareck El Aissami also condemned the event.

Meanwhile, Jorge Cardinal Urosa Savino rejected on Sunday the circulation of pictures showing armed children who sat with the faces covered in front of a mural depicting the Virgin of Coromoto, the Patroness of Venezuela, carrying an infant Jesus holding a weapon. It is a "blasphemous" picture, said the Venezuelan Cardinal.

The Catholic leader said that placing children in an attitude ready "to act violently is against the rights of children to grow up without violence."

Deputy Dinorah Figuera (opposition First Justice party), who is the president of the Committee on Family, Venezuela's National Assembly, urged Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to express his position.

"We are all committed to comply with the Disarmament Law, and no sector in Caracas should be beyond control," she said.