Who are the new heads of Venezuela’s intelligence services?

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, ordered this Monday changes in the Superior General Staff of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) of Venezuela and named the new soldiers who will be in charge of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) and the Service Bolivarian National Intelligence Agency (SEBIN).

Defenders of fundamental rights, victims and bodies such as the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFM), have accused the DGCIM and the SEBIN of being organizations that function as part of the “repressive machinery of the State”.

Maduro announced that he appointed Major General Javier Marcano Tábata as head of the DGCIM and the Presidential Honor Guard (GHP).

Until now, Marcano Tábata was the general commander of the Bolivarian Militia, and was previously in charge of the Capital Strategic Comprehensive Defense Region (REDI).

Between 2016 and 2019 he was commander of the Special Unit for Security and Protection of State Personalities of the Presidential Honor Guard.

According to Citizen Control, an NGO that works for the right of citizens to exercise oversight over the Security, Defense and National Armed Forces sectors, Marcano Tábata graduated from the Venezuelan Military Academy in 1991, ranking 207th. in the order of merit among the 213 members of that promotion.

As SEBIN director, Maduro appointed Major General Alexis Rodriguez Cabellowho last year was appointed by the Venezuelan president as the sole authority of Guava Esequiba, while a law was approved for the creation of a state in territory that both Guyana and Venezuela consider theirs.

Rodríguez Cabello had previously been named vice president of the supervisory board of the state-owned Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG), following a corruption scandal in the CVG and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

In addition, he was a deputy of the National Assembly (AN) with a pro-government majority for the state of Bolívar; president of the Permanent Commission of Comptrollership of the AN, and liaison of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) for the state of Bolívar.

Between 2019 and 2020 he held the position of general commander of the Venezuelan Army.

According to various media, Rodríguez Cabello is the cousin of the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, considered one of the strong men in the government.

Rodríguez Cabello graduated from the Venezuelan Military Academy in 1987; It ranked 87th in merit among 216 graduates and retired in July 2020, according to data from Citizen Control.

Between 2017 and 2019 he was commander of the Capital Comprehensive Defense Strategic Region (REDI Capital).

Currently, the prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating Venezuela for alleged crimes against humanity that, according to the Maduro government, “have never occurred.”

The announcements occurred a day after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado urged her country’s military forces to defend the results of the July 28 presidential elections in which the opposition claimed victory.

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