Génesis Carmona

Génesis Cristina Carmona Tovar (20 September 1991 – 19 February 2014) was a Venezuelan fashion model, beauty queen, and college student who was killed while protesting against the Government of Venezuela during the 2014 Venezuelan protests. She later became a symbol of protest against the Nicolás Maduro government during the time of demonstrations in the country.[1][2][3]

Génesis Carmona
Génesis Carmona, Miss Turismo 2013 Carabobo, Venezuela
Born(1991-09-20)September 20, 1991
Carabobo, Venezuela
DiedFebruary 19, 2014(2014-02-19) (aged 22)
Valencia, Venezuela
NationalityVenezuelan
OccupationModel, student

Career

Born and educated in Carabobo, Carmona majored in Social Studies at Universidad Tecnológica del Centro,[4] a local polytechnic located in Valencia's eastern satellite Alianza City, in the metropolitan capital region of the state of Carabobo in Venezuela.

She had initially participated in fashion events held in the city of Valencia, such as Venezuela Moda and Fashion Week Valencia.[5] In 2010, she was a pre-candidate for Miss Venezuela 2010, though she did not qualify to participate in the pageant.[5] In 2013, as a 21-year-old, she entered a regional beauty contest for her native state of Carabobo, winning one of the titles and becoming crowned 2013 Miss Turismo Carabobo.[6]

Death

Protest
External video
A video linking the images below to footage of the protest, showing Carmona being transported seconds after pro-government individuals fired rounds on YouTube

On 18 February 2014, Carmona participated in an anti-government demonstration. Protesters, dressed in white, planned to march down Cedeño Avenue to the Plaza de Toros. The march encountered military barricades and prevented the hundreds of demonstrators from advancing, with participants deciding to protest in the space in which they were confined. At 3:30pm, pro-government colectivos arrived on the scene and began to attack the protest with "[b]ottles, stones and gunfire". As shots rang out, individuals scattered into Cedeño Mall, seeking shelter from bullets.[5]

The attack resulted in several opposition protesters injured, 8 of those injured from gunshot wounds,[7] including Carmona, who suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head.[8][9][10] Witnesses described that she sunk to the ground after a bullet penetrated her left occipital skull area.

Carmona was then placed in the ICU. A day later on 19 February at 12:15 p.m, she died from "significant" brain damage due to gunshot trauma and loss of blood the following day.[4][6][11] Dr. Carlos Rosales explained that the bullet was still in Carmona's brain and that if she had survived, she would have been blind.[5]

Aftermath

Media and family response

In an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC, Carmona's friend and fellow protester Héctor Rotunda said Carmona was shot when a group of about 50 individuals outfitted in red (and thus believed to be government supporters) approached the demonstration and fired a burst of about 10 rounds at protesters. Mourners at Carmona's funeral stated she was "killed by government mercenaries."[12] Some foreign news sources said that pro-government paramilitaries were the ones who shot and killed her.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Carmona's mother has also stated that the attackers were clearly identifiable in videos as Venezuelan government supporters and that Venezuelan authorities did "nothing" to clarify Carmona's death.[20]

Some have blamed Francisco Ameliach for Carmona's death. Days before Carmona was killed, the governor of the state of Carabobo, Francisco Ameliach, called on Unidades de Batalla Bolívar-Chávez (Units of Battle Hugo Chávez, UBCh), in a tweet, asking UBCh to launch a rapid counterattack against protesters saying that the order would come from the President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello.[14][15][16][19][21] After Carmona's death, Venezuela's anti-government protesters placed posters in various areas of Valencia, condemning Ameliach's tweet and linked it to the killing of Carmona.[22]

Venezuelan government's response
A memorial for a few of those killed during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, with Carmona among those pictured (top row, third from right)

The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, expressed his condolences to Carmona's family and to the people who loved her. He also said that it had been "well-established" by the government's CIPC ballistic research and witnesses that violent groups from the opposition were responsible for her death.[9][23][24] Minister of the Interior, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, reported that the bullet that killed her came from her own ranks during the anti-government march.[25]

Only one PSUV member, Juan Maza, was placed on parole, having to report every 15 days.[5] However, as of 18 February 2017, three years after Carmona's death, the Venezuelan has never resolved the case surrounding her death.[5]

Eponyms

Mayor Alejandro Feo La Cruz paid tribute to those who had died during protests in Carabobo, naming an avenue "Genesis Carmona Avenue" and named a park after another protester, Geraldin Moreno.[26]

Family's asylum

In December 2014, Carmona's mother, María Eugenia Tovar, as well as her sister, Alejandra Carmona, moved to the United States seeking asylum. As of February 2017, the family has remained private, residing in the United States.[5]

gollark: I have no idea.
gollark: Oh, here's politics: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57893161
gollark: It would be very convenient if we could automatically generate summaries of the news, or something.
gollark: "former president Jacob Zuma was arrested for contempt of court", apparently.
gollark: Idea: task a recursively self-improving AI with maximizing the "coolness" of news events.

See also

References
  1. Sim, David (20 February 2014). "Genesis Carmona: Beauty Queen Shot Dead in Venezuela, Becomes Symbol of Protest". International Business Times. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  2. Mandel, Ken (21 February 2014). "Genesis Carmona, Beauty Queen Killed in Venezuela, Becomes Face of Unrest". NewsMax. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  3. Walters, Joanna (20 February 2014). "Beauty queen shot dead amid unrest in Venezuela". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  4. "Una bala fulminó a Miss Turismo Carabobo 2013". El Universal.mx (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  5. Rodríguez, Astrid (18 February 2017). "Génesis Carmona, tres años después de su trágica muerte". El Carabobeño (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  6. "Muere Génesis Carmona, la miss que resultó herida en las manifestaticiones contra Maduro" [Génesis Carmona Dies, the Miss [Beauty Pageant Winner] Who Was Injured in the Street Demonstrations Against [President Nicolas] Maduro]"]. ABC.es/Reuters (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  7. Rodriguez, Marianela (18 February 2014). "Al menos 8 heridos de bala en manifestaciones de Valencia". El Universal. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  8. Fiaschi, M. (18 February 2014). "Reportan varios heridos en marcha que se realizó en la avenida Cedeño de Valencia". Noticias 24 Carabobo. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  9. "Con flores y misa, carabobeños recuerdan hoy a Génesis Carmona a un mes de su muerte". Noticias24.com. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  10. "Génesis Carmona, Miss Tourism 2013, is dead after being shot in protest". El Universal (in Spanish). 19 February 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. "Falleció Miss Turismo 2013 herida de bala ayer en Valencia" [Miss Tourism 2013 shot yesterday in Valencia died]. El Nacional (in Spanish). 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  12. "Venezuelans mourn slain beauty queen as more protests planned". CBS News online portal. AP. February 21, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  13. "Morre miss baleada durante protests na Venezuela" [A Beauty Queen Dies During Protests in Venezuela]. Gazeta do Povo do Paraná (in Portuguese). Paraná, Brazil. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  14. "Muerte de Génesis Carmona: chavista había incitado la violencia". El Comercio. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  15. "Una miss venezolana muere tras recibir un disparo en una protesta". El Mundo. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  16. "Murió la reina de belleza atacada por las milicias chavistas" [The beauty queen attacked by Chavist militia died]. Infobae (in Spanish). 19 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  17. Ferreiro, Ignacio (19 February 2014). "Génesis Carmona, Miss Carabobo, asesinada por las milicias chavistas" [Génesis Carmona, Miss Carabobo, Assassinated by the Chavist militia]. Hechos de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  18. Rozo, Diego (21 February 2014). "Unos moteros chavistas asesinaron a la miss venezolana Génesis Carmona" [Some Chavist motorcyclists assassinated the Miss Venezuela Génesis Carmona]. ABC (Spanish News) (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  19. "Venezuela: Chavistas mataron a reina de belleza Génesis Carmona" [Venezuela: Chavists killed the beauty queen Génesis Carmona]. Ojo (in Spanish). 20 February 2014. Archived from the original (video) on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  20. "Madre de Génesis Carmona se exilia en EEUU". El Universal. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  21. "Punished for Protesting" (PDF). Human Rights Watch.
  22. "A dos meses del asesinato de Génesis Carmona, venezolanos piden justicia (Foto)". La Patilla. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  23. "Nicolás Maduro y Génesis Carmona: "Nuestras condolencias a su familia"". El-Nacional. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  24. Robertson, Ewan. "Death Toll in Venezuela Clashes Rises to Ten (Updated)". venezuelanalysis.com. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  25. "'La bala que mató a Miss Turismo salió de sus propias filas', dice ministro venezolano". CNN Español. CNN. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  26. "Inauguran Av. Génesis Carmona y Parque Geraldin Moreno en Valencia (Fotos)". La Patilla. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
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