CARACAS (Reuters) – Robert Serra, a young “Chavista” ruling party lawmaker, died after being stabbed in his home in Caracas late Wednesday in an “intentional homicide,” government officials said, in Venezuela’s latest high-profile violent crime.
Serra, 27, and Maria Herrera – whom officials said was Serra’s companion – were killed at his residence in the impoverished La Pastora neighbourhood of the Venezuelan capital.
The victims died of haemorrhagic shock after they were stabbed with a “sharp, penetrating weapon,” Interior and Justice Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said early yesterday.
“This is not a random incident committed by common criminals, this is an intentional homicide, planned and executed with great precision,” Rodriguez Torres said.
Government officials described Herrera as Serra’s “companion” after saying late Wednesday she was his romantic partner. The nature of their relationship couldn’t immediately be verified.
Torres urged the political opposition to refrain from turning Serra’s death into a “media circus.”
One of the youngest members of the National Assembly, Serra was a lawyer with a Master’s Degree in criminology, media reports said. He was an avowed ‘Chavista’ – a supporter of the left-wing political ideology of the country’s late former president, Hugo Chavez.
He rose to prominence as a student leader and was seen as one of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela’s (PSUV) most promising young leaders.
Critics had rapped his perceived aggressive political style and ties with radical fringe groups. Local media reports said two of Serra’s escorts have been killed in recent years.
Serra’s death puts the spotlight again on violent crime in Venezuela, which has one of the world’s highest homicide rates.
