April 4th
* Authorities found the bodies of the three Faddoul Diab brothers, who were kidnapped 41 days ago.

* Bryan Faddoul (17), Kevin Faddoul (13) and Jason Faddoul (12) and their driver, Miguel Rivas (30), were found dead near an electrical tower, in San Antonio de Yare, west of Caracas.

* The bodies were taken to the local morgue, where José Faddoul, uncle of Faddoul brothers, identified the victims.

* The minister of the Interior and Justice Jesse Chacón late read an official communiqué expressing his sympathies to the relatives of the victims. He branded the crime as "abominable and regrettable."

* He called the Faddoul brothers' father to advise him of the finding.

* "We lament, despite the efforts that were made 24 hours a day since this started, we have not been able to prevent this abominable homicide," Chacon said.

* Chacón added the perpetrators would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

* The three brothers and their driver were abducted last February 23rd when unidentified men dressed as police officers stopped their car at a roadside checkpoint in Caracas as the boys were on their way to school.

* The victims were found with gunshot wounds in their head and neck area. It appeared they had been killed at least two days before their bodies were found, judicial police chief Marco Chávez said on state television.

April 5th
* Demonstrators voiced rejection and repudiation against the murder of brothers Jason Faddoul Diab (12), Kevin Faddoul Diab (13) and Bryan Faddoul Diab (17), and their driver Miguel Rivas (30) after they were kidnapped for 41 days.

* Dozen people demonstrated outside the Ministry of the Interior and Justice in Urdaneta Avenue, downtown Caracas, and demanded authorities to take the relevant decisions to face crime nationwide.

* Protesters blocked roads in several areas of the Venezuelan capital, while motorists wrote "Mourning" and "Justice Now!" on their car windshields.

* Opposition leaders took part in the demonstrations. Baruta Mayor Enrique Capriles Radonski claimed the murder shows that "life is worthless" in Venezuela.

* He lashed out at Hugo Chávez' Government, saying that the Venezuelan administration constantly talks about imperialism and asymmetric war, rather than waging war against crime.

* He stressed that 100,000 people have been killed in the last seven years in Venezuela. Capriles added that the citizens' security plan implemented by the Ministry of the Interior and Justice has failed.

* The Venezuelan Government voiced rejection of the murder of Faddoul brothers and driver, whose bodies were found last April 4th in Valles del Tuy, central Miranda state.

* After a ministerial session at the Vice-President's Office, Labor Minister Ricardo Dorado commented that this action trespasses the concept of life, official news agency Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN) reported. He expressed confidence in police efforts at finding perpetrators.

* The National Assembly (AN) proposed the establishment of a national round table to deal with crime and violence. The first meeting was scheduled for April 7th, at 11:00 a.m. in the Federal Legislature.

* According to AN President Nicolás Maduro, the Congress board, along with the heads of the legislative committees related to security issues, asked a number of domestic sectors, including the Catholic Church, scholars, relatives of victims of kidnapping and bribe, and public agencies, among others, to join efforts in order to devise an "extraordinary plan" to fight violence.

* Maduro hinted the possibility of the legislature to discuss new amendments to the Criminal Code and the Organic Code of Criminal Procedure (Copp), "in order to include more stringent punishment or even life imprisonment." Reference was made to the murder of Faddoul brothers, Italian-Venezuelan businessman Filippo Sindoni and the Kennedy's massacre.

* The senior official thinks that the State "should use iron fist in the face of crimes of such nature. The state cannot be weak. It should mirror on the laws and their enforcement the strength wanted by the society to punish such crimes. We cannot give up."

* Mayor Juan Barreto submitted a large amount of case files of Metropolitan Police (PM) officers involved in a number of crimes and taken to court. In his opinion, the Caracas Mayoralty is indeed restructuring the police.

* Barreto explained that since takeover of the Metropolitan Mayoralty, 528 records of police officers involved in crimes, including robbery, drug traffic, bribe and murder, have been taken to court.

* "As a matter of fact, the police used to be, and continues being, the police of crime, extortion and bribe," he conceded.

* The official regretted the recent murder of Faddoul brothers and expressed solidarity with some sectors in the society that demand prompt action in this regard.

* Students and teachers of main universities took the streets to express their consternation at the murder of the Faddoul brothers and driver.

Photographer murdered apparently by a police officer
* Jorge Aguirre, a photographer with El Mundo newspaper who was covering a protest against the murder of Faddoul brothers near Venezuela Square, north Caracas, was shot to death.

* According to Julio Calderón, the victim's driver, an unidentified man in a motorcycle who ordered them to stop intercepted their vehicle.

* "He said he was a police officer, but since he had no identification, I did not stop." said Calderón. He added that some minutes later, the man appeared again and made some shots, wounding Aguirre.

* These new murders happen just days after the killing last March 29th of a prominent Italian businessman,  Filippo Sindoni, who was also kidnapped. His car was stopped at a checkpoint where four men wearing police uniforms and carrying firearms attacked him and his driver/bodyguard.

* Spokespersons for several political parties rejected the murder of the Faddoul brothers Jason (12), Kevin (13) and Bryan (17) and their driver Miguel Rivas (30) after they were kidnapped for 40 days.

* Different sectors agreed to blame Hugo Chávez' Government for failing to ensure the physical integrity of Venezuelans and allowing growing impunity.

* "The Government has to make a big effort to respond to the collective's indignation," said opposition Copei party former president Eduardo Fernández, claiming that Chávez administration is incapable of guaranteeing Venezuelans' lives.

* Opposition Primero Justicia party leader and mayor of Baruta municipality Henrique Capriles Radonski said he expected this murder awakes the military so that they stop turning a blind eye on the Government insistence in spending money in weapons to fight US President George W. Bush.

* Opposition MAS party leader Pedro Castillo rejected the fact that the minister of the Interior and Justice Jesse Chacón attempted to "criminalize" Venezuelans for attributing high crime rates to the Government incapacity.

* "Citizens do not have anyone who protects them, and besides, the police corps -which are supposed to protect them- are plagued with people who are involved in crimes," said Castillo. "Six Caracas Metropolitan Police officers are said to be involved in this case, but the only thing we have heard about that is that they have not showed up to work."

* Opposition AD party leader Nelson Lara said "the culprit of the murder of Faddoul brothers, their driver Miguel Rivas, (Italian-Venezuelan businessman) Filippo Sindoni, and three university students killed in (west Caracas poor neighborhood) Kennedy, and most 12,000 murders recorded in Venezuela each year is Chávez indirectly. He has built a State linked to crime. He introduced criminals to politics."

* Opposition Venezuela de Primera party leader Roberto Smith said "this monstrous crime shows that deep social decay is hitting the country's foundations and making families more vulnerable than ever. Nobody feels safe in the face of this lack of governance and the prevalence of impunity."

* "Citizens have lost confidence in institutions, especially in police corps," Smith added.
* Protesters took the streets at least in nine points in Caracas to reject the killing of the Faddoul brothers and their driver Miguel Rivas following 40 days in captivity by kidnappers.

* Demonstrators blocked roads and freeways, thus leading to serious traffic jams all through the capital city.

* But also in several regions nationwide, such as the states of Bolívar, Aragua and Tuy, the place where the bodies where found, people took the streets to show consternation.

* Road blockades in Caracas started late on April 4th, when authorities confirmed the finding of the four bullet-ridden bodies.

* On April 5th, the neighbors in Vista Alegre, west Caracas, where the Faddoul brothers lived, closed a main road and then a nearby freeway.

* University students at the Catholic University Andrés Bello, west Caracas, blocked the highway near the campus. And then joined Vista Alegre neighbors.

* Students at the Central University of Venezuela blocked the freeway outside the campus, while demonstrators in Santa Rosa de Lima, east Caracas, obstructed car traffic.

* Protesters asking for punishment for the killers of the Faddoul brothers and Miguel Rivas also took the avenues Baralt and Urdaneta, downtown Caracas.

* Students also demonstrated in Monteavila University, Metropolitan University, and in Francisco Miranda Avenue, northeast Caracas.

* "Venezuela is mourning," "No more kidnappings," read the banners protesters carried.

* Protests extended well into the night, particularly in Francia Square, Altamira, northeast Caracas.

* Around 8:00 p.m. National Guard officers threw tear gas bombs to prevent protesters from blocking Francisco Fajardo Highway.

* People banged pots while the minister of the Interior and Justice Jesse Chacón delivered a mandatory radio and TV speech to brief on the case.

April 6th
* Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), called upon Venezuelan authorities to establish responsibilities in the execution in Venezuela of three young brothers and their driver, a crime that has shocked the country.

* Insulza also asked for respect for the victims' relatives and urged not to use this crime as a political issue against the government of President Hugo Chávez, AP reported.
  
* "I think what happened is terrible. I put myself in the shoes of these kids' relatives and... I am truly touched."

* Authorities "have to solve the crimes and punish their perpetrators," Insulza added.

* "But we have to respect the pain of the family and not to turn (this crime) into a political issue."

* The Attorney General's Office demanded arrest of a police chief in north central Aragua state for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Italian-Venezuelan businessman Filippo Sindoni, authorities said.

* The third court of Aragua state issued a bench warrant for Víctor Contreras, assistant chief of the local police corps. Contreras allegedly contacted Sindoni's relatives for ransom, DPA reported.

* Authorities added that three men and a woman were arrested in raids in central Carabobo state.

* Sindoni (72), owner of a regional newspaper and TV station, was kidnapped last March 27th by men wearing police uniforms at a checkpoint in Maracay, Aragua state. His body was found 24 hours later, with evidence of torture.

* Dozen reporters marched to the Attorney General's Office to reject the murder on April 5th of press photographer Jorge Aguirre while he was near Venezuela Square, central-north Caracas, covering a protest against the murder of Faddoul brothers and their driver.

* As reported by Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez, special protection for Canelón was requested April 5th from the Directorate for Intelligence, Security and Prevention (Disip) as he is viewed as a pivotal witness in the enquiry into the photographer's murder.

* Two special public prosecutors, Cristian Quijada and Víctor Barreto, have been appointed to lead the investigation.

* A number of Venezuelan civil associations forwarded a letter to the Apostolic Nuncio in Caracas showing "pain and outrage" for the murder of brothers Faddoul and their driver Miguel Rivas.

* They warned that everyday a number of Venezuelan mothers mourn their children, who are killed by criminals or police officers, while others pray to God not to become the next victim of crime.

* The Congress of Citizen Organizations, civil association Cambio, NGO Súmate, and other groups rejected the fact that Venezuelans live in fear, and claimed in Venezuela the "State is increasingly sluggish and the Government cultivates hatred, corruption and impunity."

* They asked the Apostolic Nuncio for "shelter and justice" and his intervention to achieve respect for the fundamental right of life. They also requested the Vatican representative in Venezuela to let the world know the situation facing Venezuela.

* In their letter, the groups also regretted the murder of El Mundo newspaper photographer Jorge Aguirre, the murder of three university students by police officers west Caracas, and the murder of Italian-Venezuelan businessman Filippo Sindoni.

* Caracas Archbishop Jorge Cardinal Urosa Savino urged state security corps to respect spontaneous demonstrations of pain and repudiation against insecurity Venezuelans are staging nationwide.

* He invited Venezuelans to channel their feelings through legal and institutional mechanisms and demand authorities to play their role to protect people's personal security and properties.

* "This is not a partisan or political issue, this is about the political obligation the State has to protect citizens," he added.

* He urged the Legislature to enact an anti-kidnapping and anti-extortion law, and also to amend the crime code "to punish horrific crimes that are not penalized under the current crime code, rather than penalizing political dissent."

* Reporters Without Borders (RWB), an organization devoted to press freedom, regretted the murder of Venezuelan press photographer Jorge Aguirre, 60, who died on April 5th in Caracas during coverage of a demonstration against insecurity, AFP reported.

* RWB, based in Paris, recalled in a press release that Aguirre, of daily newspaper El Mundo, was shot dead by a presumed police officer during a demonstration to repudiate the crime of Faddoul brothers, who were kidnapped and subsequently murdered along with their driver.

* Aguirre was shot in the chest when he tried to take a picture of the alleged police officer who intercepted his vehicle. He managed to capture the image of the murder fleeing and on his back after shooting him.

* According to RWB, the Venezuelan media is "paying dearly for the violent climate" in the country.

* Additionally, the organization stressed that the police is involved in many crimes and praised the sweeping of the official corps intended by the government.

* Monsignor Giacinto Berlocco, Venezuelan apostolic nuncio, joined the mourning for the death of Faddoul brothers, their driver Miguel Rivas and press photographer Jorge Aguirre, and backed a call made by bishops in a press release, "for state agencies to safeguard, look after and defend the life of all Venezuelans, with no exception."

* "Security agencies and institutions of public powers should take into consideration the community clamor, asking for security and respect for everybody's life."

* The Vatican representative condemned "any act contrary to human life, particularly kidnappings and assassinations."

* In addition, he asked to "speed up investigation in order to find and punish perpetrators. Otherwise, impunity would mean an incentive to violence."

* The Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression lamented the murder of press photographer Jorge Aguirre, of Venezuelan daily newspaper El Mundo, and requested a prompt, effective enquiry.

* The Rapporteur noted that under the American Convention on Human Rights, states should prevent, investigate and punish any and all abuses of the rights listed in the instrument, Efe noted.

* "Thorough, effective and quick investigation of crimes against journalists is essential to send a firm message about the fact that the state will not tolerate such serious violations of freedom of expression," the agency noted.

* The Americas "is the most dangerous region in the world for journalism," Venezuelan Ignacio Álvarez, elected last March as Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, pointed out.

* "Killing journalists is certainly the most brutal way of curtailing freedom of expression," he added, and feared impunity as a current trend in the hemisphere.

* Communication and Information minister William Lara accused the media of anticipating to judicial investigations by asserting "positively and without reasoning" that the murderer of El Mundo newspaper press photographer Jorge Aguirre was a police officer.

* Lara warned he would ask the board of directors of the radio and TV social responsibility commission to conduct "a thorough examination" of the media coverage of the Aguirre case, the kidnapping and subsequent killing of the Faddoul brothers Jason (12), Kevin (13) and Bryan (17) and their driver Miguel Rivas (30), and the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Italian-Venezuelan businessman Filippo Sindoni.

* "Claiming that he (the man who killed Aguirre) is a cop amounts to manipulating the people. That is one of the hypotheses authorities are considering, but he might not be a policeman. The ethical thing to do is saying that." Lara added the would ask the board of directors of the radio and TV social responsibility commission to "enforce the law to its full extent."

* He claimed some political parties are trying to use the Faddoul case for political purposes, ahead of next December 3rd presidential election.

* He rejected advertising spots broadcast last April 5th calling people to demonstrate in the streets.

* "We have solid indications that we are faced with an anti-democratic escalation with foreign players involved. We have information that political groups have held meetings in preparation for infiltrating irregulars in demonstrations and unleash violence."

* He warned that, unlike April 2002, when President Hugo Chávez was briefly removed from power amid popular demonstrations, now the Government is "one of the strongest in the world."

* Later, Alvin Lezama, head of the National Telecommunications Commission, declared that this agency would assess media broadcast. "We are going to check what is the attitude the media are encouraging people to take. In this country, the Constitution provides for the right to information, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech, but we have to respect the rule of law too."

* The law in Venezuela provides for "ulterior responsibility and the Radio and Television Social Responsibility Law comprises some regulations intended for the well-being of boys, girls and adolescents. A new communication paradigm has to be fostered," Lezama added.

Chávez' statment
* "We will not rest until we find the culprits of these crimes. We will prevent impunity in these crimes. This is our commitment, but we need support from the whole country," President Hugo Chávez said late on April 6th during an unexpected interview outside the presidential palace of Miraflores.

* This was Chávez' first statement regarding the killings of Italian-Venezuela businessman Filippo Sindoni, brothers Faddoul and their driver Miguel Rivas, and press photographer Jorge Aguirre.

* The Venezuelan ruler claimed he has lived very tense days since the murder of Sindoni, whom he labeled as "a good friend."

* Regarding the kidnapping and execution of the Faddoul brothers and their driver Miguel Rivas, Chávez said he was speechless. "I cannot imagine how someone can do such a terrible thing."

April 7th
* The board of directors of the Radio and TV Social Responsibility Commission issued a communiqué repudiating the murders of Faddoul brothers, their driver Miguel Rivas, and press photographer Jorge Aguirre.

* They urged radio and TV stations to report on such events in accordance with the principles set forth in the Constitution, the Radio and TV Social Responsibility Law, and the Code of Ethics of Venezuelan Journalists.

* The communiqué, issued by the Communication and Information Ministry, quoted article 7, Radio and TV Social Responsibility Law: "No yellow press that could adversely affect the right of users for correct information shall be used, in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations, and under no circumstances whatsoever, any information shall be exacerbated, treated in unhealthy terms or an emphasis shall be made on unnecessary details."

* The Commission urged radio and TV stations "to encourage democratic and informative balance through the broadcasting of messages guaranteeing the right of expression and information without censorship."

* "We will not rest until we find the culprits of these crimes. We will prevent impunity in these crimes. This is our commitment, but we need support from the whole country," President Hugo Chávez said late Thursday during an unexpected interview outside the presidential palace of Miraflores.

* This was Chávez' first statement regarding the killings of Italian-Venezuela businessman Filippo Sindoni, brothers Faddoul and their driver Miguel Rivas, and press photographer Jorge Aguirre.

* Regarding the kidnapping and execution of the Faddoul brothers and their driver Miguel Rivas, Chávez said he was speechless. "I cannot imagine how someone can do such a terrible thing."

* Communication and Information minister William Lara accused the media of anticipating to judicial investigations by asserting "positively and without reasoning" that the murderer of El Mundo newspaper press photographer Jorge Aguirre was a police officer.

* Lara warned he would ask the board of directors of the radio and TV social responsibility commission to conduct "a thorough examination" of the media coverage of the Aguirre case, the kidnapping and subsequent killing of the Faddoul brothers and their driver Miguel Rivas, and the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Italian-Venezuelan businessman Filippo Sindoni.

* Three individuals involved in the Faddoul case, and alleged members of the group that held hostages the brothers and their driver Miguel Rivas in Yare, central Miranda state, have been submitted to the Attorney General Office, Minister of the Interior and Justice Jesse Chacón reported.

* Two additional people are to complete the group of five kidnappers. "There are enquiries into two people who, based on the investigation, took direct part in execution of the children and the driver."

* The Minister explained that the three detainees are Venezuelan and the Scientific, Penal and Criminology Investigation Agency (Cicpc) made the relevant enquiry into the weapon used.