Venezuelan Attorney General says protesters 'use ketchup' to simulate blood as NGOs report at least 11 dead

Venezuela's Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, claimed that the Public Ministry has recorded 1,062 arrests during the protests that have taken the country by storm since the government claimed it won the presidential elections without showing granular data, something questioned by several heads of state.

But the press conference took a turn for the bizarre when Saab suggested that in many of those injured during the protests were using ketchup to simulate blood:

"They simulate injuries and they'll be detained. They fall to the ground, they're smothered in ketchup in an act that resembles a sort of necrophilic clown theater."

Saab went on to say that those proven not to be involved in the protests "will be released, because there is justice," but those who did participate "will remain in detention for many years."

Saab also said authorities are pursuing the material authors of what he called "centers of violence." He claimed that these individuals have paid the protesters with money and food, such as Nutella, to carry out disturbances. "We are investigating who the money suppliers are because they will also be detained," Saab said.

In the televised broadcast, Saab presented a series of videos showing hooded individuals who "threaten to kill, burn public property, and then, after being detained, confess to having received money to perform the series of vandalistic actions and beg for mercy."

President Nicolás Maduro, on his end, invited his followers to use a government app to denounce others who are protesting. In a menacing speech at the Government palace on Tuesday, Maduro said: "We are going to open a window in the App that we use for the 1x10 of Good Governance. A special page will be opened so that the entire population can confidentially provide the details of all the criminals who have attacked the people so we can go after them."

Hours after Maduro made the announcement, users began posting tutorials on how to report the app on app stores like Google Play and, as of now, several others report that the app has, in fact, been suspended by that provider.

NGO Foro Penal reports 11 dead since protests began

Even though Saab mentioned 77 injured security officers and one killed since protests began, he failed to mention any one of the deaths attributed to security forces during the protests. NGO Foro Penal, which advocates for human rights in Venezuela and offers legal assistance to victims of State-sponsored repression, reports that 11 people have been killed since the protests began and 429 arrests have been committed since the protests began.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission reporting on Venezuela also released a statement on Wednesday, warning of "human rights violations in the post-electoral context and accelerated reactivation of the repressive machinery". The statement also reads:

"Public order control operations must comply with international human rights standards and norms, according to which the use of force must be proportionate and must be aimed at the protection of life."