Maracaibo parents arrested after infant ingests diesel

child neglect Maracaibo fuel ingestion Zulia state police arrest

In Maracaibo, Venezuela, a one-year-old child was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Hospital Universitario de Maracaibo after accidentally ingesting diesel fuel. Medical professionals diagnosed the infant with chemical pneumonitis due to the ingestion.

Authorities from the Cuerpo de Policía Bolivariana del estado Zulia (Cpbez) arrested the child's parents, Talia Chiquinquirá Molero Castillo and Manuel Lisandro González González, at the hospital. Police reported that both parents were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, admitting to continuous consumption since the previous night.

The parents face charges related to child neglect and cruel treatment under the Organic Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (Lopnna). The case has been referred to the 35th Prosecutor's Office of the Public Ministry. Following the incident, the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents arranged for the temporary custody of the couple's other two children, aged two and seven, to be placed with a paternal aunt.