(CNN) -
Some 23 people have died during an operation by security forces against alleged criminal gangs in La Vega, a high-crime neighborhood in western Caracas, Marino Alvarado, investigative coordinator for Provea, an NGO from human rights.
The authorities of the questioned government of Venezuela have not reported any deaths in the operations that began on Friday.
CNN contacted the Ministry of Communication and Information and the Public Ministry and has not yet received a response.
Venezuelan digital media denounce attack by government agencies
The Special Actions Forces (FAES) indicated on their Instagram account that, in response to complaints from various residents of the neighborhood, more than 650 officials from different services of the Bolivarian National Police Corps (CPNB) deployed an operation of “citizen security, to go after the organized crime gangs that tried to subdue and undermine the tranquility of the community ”.
The commander of the FAES, Miguel Domínguez, published a video on his Instagram account on Friday where several armed agents are seen touring an area of La Vega and wrote: "Officials of the PNB and FAES in La Vega work obeying the people." .
NGO Foro Penal denounces death of indigenous detained in Venezuela for lack of medical care
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, asked the Maduro government in 2019 to dismantle security forces such as the FAES.
In his report on the situation in Venezuela, Bachelet documented a series of complaints of extrajudicial executions in which members of the FAES were identified as allegedly responsible.
The Venezuelan government rejected the UN document.
Venezuela