Contamination and Impact

Mines

Venezuela’s mine contamination is the result of mine emplacement by its armed forces at six naval bases near Río Arauca in the Amazon region along its border with Colombia in 1995–1997. After a 25 February 1995 attack on the naval post in Cararabo, Apure state, by suspected non-state armed groups operating across the border with Colombia, Venezuela laid 1,074 mines in 13 minefields around six naval posts in Cararabo, Guafitas, Isla Vapor, Puerto Páez, Río Arauca, and San Fernando de Atabapo.[1] The total mined area is reported to be 180,000m².

The maps and photographs in Venezuela’s Article 5 deadline extension request clearly show the locations and terrain of the mined areas.[2] The minefields are located on a flood plain in dense vegetation and in an isolated part of Venezuela,[3] on secure naval bases to which civilians are prohibited from entering and are said to be marked with warning signs.[4]

Mine Action Program

The mine action program is under the control of the Ministry of Defense with no civilian input or guidance from the legislature.[5] Rear Admiral Alcibíades Jesús Paz, from the Department of Defense, is responsible for coordination, a post to which he was first appointed in 2004.[6] There are no external technical advisors.

Land Release

Venezuela has released no mined land since joining the Mine Ban Treaty.

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the five-year extension to its deadline granted by the Ninth Meeting of States Parites in 2008), Venezuela is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 October 2014. In granting the extension, States Parties noted that “with speedy establishment of a demining program and acquisition of mechanical demining assets, Venezuela may find itself in a situation wherein it could complete implementation before October 2014 and that this could benefit the Convention.”[7]

Venezuela has not sought to implement its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 obligations in good faith. As of June 2010, more than 10 years after becoming party to the treaty, Venezuela had not cleared a single mined area.[8] Previously, Venezuela cited wet weather as the main reason for not being able to conduct mine clearance. As the mined areas are located on a flood plain, Venezuela has claimed that the rains would quickly end any ongoing clearance activities.[9]

In June 2010, however, Venezuela cited a severe drought as one of the reasons demining could not begin, as well as a fall in the Gross National Product and new priorities for the government as the primary reasons for not initiating the operational plan described in its Article 5 extension request that was approved by States Parties in November 2008.[10] In response, the ICBL stated that “the time for excuses is over, the time for clearance is now.”[11]

In 2007, Venezuela made statements indicating that it was still making active use of these emplaced antipersonnel mines, which is inconsistent with the Article 1 ban on use.[12] During 2007 and 2008, the ICBL repeatedly stated its concern that Venezuela was purposefully keeping its antipersonnel mines in place in order to derive military benefit from them, and was not, as required by the treaty, clearing them as soon as possible.[13] In June 2008, Venezuela stated that it was not using mines for defensive purposes, even though there are still “anti-state actors” across its border with Colombia.[14]

In May 2009, at the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, the ICBL stated again its view that the failure to initiate clearance does not serve the interests of the Mine Ban Treaty as a whole, and that whatever the merits of granting Venezuela a five-year extension, Venezuela should begin clearance as soon as possible.[15] Venezuela said it wishes to comply with all of the details in the extension request and is on schedule to do so.[16] According to its extension request, Venezuela should have formally started demining operations in 2009, with clearance of all three minefields at the Puerto Páez Naval Post carried out in February–May 2010.[17] This did not occur and no date has been offered for when operations will begin.