Political Asylum for Student Activist from Venezuela
An immigration judge in Miami granted political asylum to one of our clients who was a student activist in Venezuela. Our client was a member of the political party Primero Justicia. She participated in numerous demonstrations and marches against the government of Hugo Chavez and helped collect signatures needed to activate the presidential recall provision provided for in the 1999 Constitution adopted by the new Chavez government. She designed a database used by various opposition groups to collect the names and addresses of university students and other members of various communities to predict numbers of eligible voters. She worked as an election supervisor and observer for Primero Justicia and she also worked closely with SUMATE, another opposition-aligned voter rights organization, whose members have been brutally repressed by the Chavez government and its supporters. She frequently found herself among groups violently attacked by Circulos Bolivarianos and other government sympathizers. She witnessed her brother being severely beaten and a friend shot in the arm at a demonstration. She was brutally attacked and beaten after attending a mock election by two men who accused her of being against the government. Since our client left Venezuela in June, 2005 the government and its supporters have intensified their campaign of repression against individuals engaged in opposition activities.
By presenting evidence of the foregoing, we were able to establish in court that the mistreatment our client suffered was inflicted by the Circulos Bolivarianos, and members of other groups supported and controlled by the Venezuelan government. We also established that the harm she suffered rose to the level of persecution within the meaning of the law and that she has a well-founded fear of future persecution should she return to her country. We are happy she is safe and sound in the United States and hopes she keeps up the good fight from here.
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