Chile Court Orders State Compensation for Tear‑Gas Injured Protester, Venezuela Reports 25 Protest Deaths

Chile’s Court of Appeals in Santiago ordered the state to pay 60 million Chilean pesos in moral damages to a protester who suffered severe neurological injury after a police‑fired tear‑gas canister struck his head during a December 2019 demonstration at Plaza Italia. The court held the police action violated constitutional provisions and the 2019 police‑use‑of‑force circular, deeming it a failure of public service that obligates restitution.

In Venezuela, following the July 28, 2024 presidential election that declared Nicolás Maduro the winner amid accusations of fraud, mass protests erupted across nine states. Security forces and armed civilian groups opened fire, killing 25 demonstrators, arresting more than 2,000, and committing additional acts of violence. Investigations by Monitor de Víctimas and the Alianza Rebelde Investiga attribute a portion of the killings to paramilitary groups acting alongside state forces, contradicting official claims that civilians alone were responsible.