Venezuela: Information on the Bandera Roja (Red Flag) and its activities
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | VEN13091 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Venezuela: Information on the Bandera Roja (Red Flag) and its activities, 1 February 1993, VEN13091, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abd590.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In addition to the information provided in Response to Information Request VEN0817 of 8 May 1989, please find attached the documents listed below, which provide more recent information on the Bandera Roja group.
References to Bandera Roja activities since the previously mentioned Response was prepared could not be found among the sources available to the DIRB until late-1992, when a coup attempt nearly overthrew the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez. A possible link between the Bolivariano movement of rebel military officers that led the coup attempt and the Bandera Roja has been speculated (Caretas 10 Feb. 1992, 21). One of the attached reports states that President Pérez blamed Bandera Roja and the Bolivariano movement for a coup attempt in November 1992 (AFP 27 Nov. 1992). Another attachment states that the civilians implicated in the November 1992 coup attempt included "university students from Red Flag," adding that "civilian-military units" participated in the takeover of at least one television station in Caracas and aired messages (The New York Times 6 Dec. 1992). According to one source, authorities arrested at least 250 civilians who supported the coup attempt and described them as "subversives of the left" (Latin American Newsletters 17 Dec. 1992, 2).
A January 1993 article reports that Bandera Roja is the most significant of three guerrilla groups that have recently regrouped and are operating mostly in the states of Carabobo and Anzoategui (Libération 26 Jan. 1993). Bandera Roja is reportedly led by Gabriel Puerta Apunte and has a force of approximately one hundred heavily armed men, their weapons possibly obtained from insurgent military officers who attempted to overthrow the government in November 1992 (Ibid.). Without specifying which groups are responsible for which actions, the report adds that two sources of income for the guerrillas are hold-ups and racketeering (the article does not define what the racketeering consists of) (Ibid.). Finally, the articles states that the guerrillas (again, without specifying a group or groups) may have agents in Caracas for carrying out terrorist activities (attentats in the original French language text) (Ibid.).
Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 27 November 1992. "Perez Says Attempted Coup Being Routed." (NEXIS)
Caretas [Lima]. 10 February 1992. "Golpe Avisado."
Latin American Newsletters. 17 December 1992. Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Group Report. "Pérez Survives Second Uprising." London: Latin American Newsletters.
Libération [Paris]. 26 January 1993. "La guérilla vénézuélienne reprend du service."
The New York Times. 6 December 1992. Late Edition-Final.James Brooke. "Coup Within the Coup Cut the Toll in Venezuela." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Agence France Presse (AFP). 27 November 1992. "Perez Says Attempted Coup Being Routed." (NEXIS)
Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre (IRBDC). 8 May 1989. Response to Information Request VEN0817.
Latin American Newsletters. 17 December 1992. Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Group Report. "Pérez Survives Second Uprising." London: Latin American Newsletters.
Libération [Paris]. 26 January 1993. "La guérilla vénézuélienne reprend du service."
The New York Times. 6 December 1992. Late Edition-Final.James Brooke. "Coup Within the Coup Cut the Toll in Venezuela." (NEXIS)