For four months, every week, María Gil has been going to the 86th prosecutor’s office of the Public Ministry to promote the investigation into the death of Leonidas Rafael Ordosgoiti Gil, age 30, allegedly murdered by FAES officials.
Proiuris Report
Erick S. González Caldea
In the kitchen of her house, while serving some beans, María Gil talks about other skills that she has had to develop in the last four months. «Now I understand Criminalistics and I am increasingly sure that my son was vilely executed,» she says, recalling the death of 30-year-old Leonidas Rafael Ordosgoiti Gil, allegedly at the hands of the Special Actions Forces (FAES) of the Bolivarian National Police.
«He did not confront the police, that is a lie. He tested negative for ATD. That stands for Trigger Trace Analysis (Gunshot Residue). This is stated in the record. We have proof that my son did not shoot but was executed, ”the 66-year-old woman firmly reiterated.
The mother says that at the Bello Monte morgue they also assured her that the autopsy did not reveal any indication that Ordosgoiti Gil had fired. “They told me that my son was clean. The prosecutor knows it too. The traces of gunpowder do not come out even with water, ”he said.
Every day, since her son died, María waits in her kitchen for “Junior” (that’s how Leonidas Rafael was called ) to come down to ask for his blessing. You know that will not happen, but it is a ritual that you cannot and do not want to stop doing.
Ordosgoiti Gil was allegedly executed by FAES officials at 9:00 pm on June 7, 2019, on the Mamera- El Junquito highway . That day, the man had gone to collect money in Catia for the sale of merchandise that he brought from Colombia. The official version indicates that he opened fire on the police and there was a confrontation.
The deceased was the youngest of four siblings and always lived in his parents’ house, located in the El Junko sector , in the El Junquito parish. The sale of strawberries and cream was the main livelihood of the family.
“We always stayed watching television together until the early morning. We made it customary. After her time in jail, I did not want to separate from my son, «she said. The mother sidelong refers to Ordosgoiti Gil’s criminal record for his alleged participation in a kidnapping that occurred in 2011, as if this had nothing to do with the alleged extrajudicial execution of which he was a victim.
Ordosgoiti Gil was deprived of liberty for seven years, until August 7, 2018. At the time of his arrest, he was studying the seventh semester of law at the Santa María University. “He was implicated because his childhood friends were being prosecuted for that fact. It’s like they say: tell me who you’re with and I’ll tell you who you are” (As man is known by the company he keeps), the woman claims.
The mother remembers that while her son was in prison, every night, at exactly 7:00 pm, he called her on the phone. “We never lost contact. Now I miss those calls. For me the most important thing was that he was alive ”, she said.
Leonidas Rafael was granted parole. He had to appear once a month before the court of the case. “When he regained his freedom, he continued his studies and resumed his job as a merchant. He always complied with the conditions imposed by the court and even obtained authorization to leave the country, so he returned to travel to Colombia to buy merchandise that he later resold in Venezuela, ”explained María.
With police friends.
María reported that that Friday, June 7, her son left her house at 11:00 am. He was running errands to obtain his passport, deliver merchandise and collect part of the money owed to him. The last contact was made at 5:00 pm, when he sent a message to a friend, informing him that he was at Sucre avenue, in Catia, on his way home. Afterward, his phone was turned off.
“He never used to have the phone turned off. He always carried it with him. At 9:00 pm, when we realized that he had not arrived, we began to get scared. We alerted all his friends”, said the mother.
“Junior had friends at the police . We notified all of them. They also worried. They began to call their contacts in the police and headquarters of Caracas. But my son was not detained. It did not occur to us to look for him in hospitals ”, lamented the mother.
According to the police report obtained by the Prosecutor’s Office, the corpse of Leonidas Rafael was admitted without vital signs to the Miguel Pérez Carreño hospital at 10:45 pm that Friday.
Hypovolemic shock caused by the impact of a projectile in the thorax, was the cause of death registered in the death certificate. However, the victim was shot three times in the chest.
Promoting Prosecutorial Investigation.
Her desire for justice is stronger than the difficulties to travel by public transport from El Junko to Caracas. María goes at least once a week to the office of Prosecutor 86 of the Public Ministry, Marbella Carolina Vargas, who directs the investigations into the alleged extrajudicial execution of Leonidas Rafael Ordosgoiti Gil.
“The process is slow, but steady. The prosecutor has requested all the corresponding actions: the ATD test, the forensic report, the telephone records … As expected, the Bolivarian National Police does not want to give us any information to pinpoint who were the FAES officials who killed my son » The woman comments and confirms that she still has the strength to continue fighting against impunity.
In addition to the prosecutor, she has met with officials from the Scientific and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC) to expedite the issuance of the results of ballistics and planimetry expertise. «I don’t want to let the case go unpunished, that is why I have also gone to the CICPC, I have met with the officers and they have promised me that they will help me …», she said.
The car where Ordosgoiti Gil was, a 1992 Chevrolet Century, was owned by the mother of the deceased and was recovered. On the windshield, on the driver’s side, there’s a gunshot. «According to the version of the murderers, that shot was the one that killed my son, but the prosecution differs. The wounds don’t match. They took my son out of the car and killed him point-blank, ”he said.
María Gil revealed that the Prosecutor’s Office presumes the responsibility of three FAES officials, but requires verification with official information, which the Bolivarian National Police is reluctant to supply. «I will continue to support the prosecutor, who has also made efforts so that this crime does not go unpunished,» she reaffirmed.
The FAES not only would have taken a child from María. Now she lives with anxiety that little by little has taken away her appetite. She has lost 10 kilograms in the last four months.
Maria wants to be heard, she wants to be accompanied…
She took advantage of the fact that the Proiuris reporters came to her house, where she offered them the beans that she cooked for her whole family before the tragedy changed their lives: “Thank you for coming and listening to me. That way I don’t feel alone ”.
