Venezuela: humanity behind the nearly 200 bombed by the United State
Los Bombardeados: Sin Derecho a la Defensa is a five-month crossborder collaborative investigation by ten journalists across seven countries — coordinated by Ronna Rísquez — that reconstructed the names and stories of 19 of the 179 people killed after the Trump administration ordered the bombing of 58 vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific between September 2, 2024 and May 5, 2025. They died with no trial, no warning, no right to a defense. According to documentation gathered by journalists from ARI (Runrunes, Tal Cual and El Pitazo), the victims were mostly humble coastal residents scraping by to support their families. The investigation also exposes how these strikes have fractured international drug-enforcement cooperation, silenced officials across the region, and left entire families without answers — or even acknowledgment. These men deserved to be tried if they were suspected of a crime. They were not.
About Ronna Rísquez: Ronna Rísquez is a Venezuelan investigative journalist specializing in violence, migration, human rights, and organized crime. She authored the book El Tren de Aragua, the result of five years of research that has become a key reference on Latin American organized crime, especially after the gang gained international attention during the Trump administration’s anti-immigration campaign. She coordinates Alianza Rebelde Investiga (ARI), an editorial coalition of three Venezuelan digital outlets created to counter censorship and protect journalists. A former member of the ICIJ team behind the Panama Papers, she also founded Monitor de Víctimas and co-founded in.visibles. Her work has earned her two Premio Rey de España awards, the Global Shining Light Award, and four IPYS Venezuela prizes. She was fellow in 2025 in the program “Rest & Resilience“, being organised every year by the taz Panter Foundation.
Read the full story here: https://alianza.shorthandstories.com/los-bombardeados-sin-derecho-a-la-defensa/
You can find more articles and updates related to the taz Panter Foundation’s “Rest & Resilience” Project here.