Daniel Alejandro Quéliz Araca

Unfortunately, I am just one more number in a statistic that shouldn’t exist—a place where parents cling to memories that time tries to take away. In my case, these are the memories of my son, Daniel Alejandro Quéliz Araca.

From the moment he was born, he let me know I would be very happy by his side. He always had a fighting spirit, which made him a great athlete and, even better, an incredible friend and son. I knew that his conviction and courage would take him far; it was no surprise to me when he told me he wanted to study Law at the Arturo Michelena University in Carabobo State. I knew his firm belief in principles like democracy and liberty would lead him to change a crime-ridden country for a better one.

On April 10, 2017, a group of neighbors decided to protest within our neighborhood: with whistles and flags, without violence; some using their voices, others with pots and spoons as their only weapons. As the hours passed, a unit from the Public Order Brigade of the Carabobo State Police arrived. Upon seeing the protesters, they began to brutally attack them: they drew their firearms and started shooting at the people who were there.

My son fell to the ground after receiving a fatal gunshot wound to the neck that caused almost instantaneous death. Time stands still, and that is when you try to keep your son’s memory alive; you think about what he could have achieved, the dreams he left unfulfilled, and how all of it begins to fade away after a police officer pulls the trigger.

Hearing what had happened and knowing I couldn’t help our son, my body was filled with helplessness.

At just 20 years old, Daniel was the second victim nationwide after Jairo Ortiz (murdered on April 6, 2017, in Miranda State). At that time, government statements claimed that the police station adjacent to the residential complex was being attacked by terrorists and armed groups. All of this was an attempt to justify the excessive use of force employed by the police and to distort my son’s murder: for them, it was easier to label my son as a terrorist than to admit the abuses they had committed against a young student.

In April 2017, the Attorney General’s Office, through the Prosecutor at the time, Luisa Ortega Díaz, ordered National Prosecutor’s Office No. 34 and State Prosecutor’s Office No. 28 of Carabobo State to immediately begin investigations into Daniel’s murder.

Through the Caracas Criminalistics Unit, twelve hours after Daniel’s death, the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC) of Carabobo State managed to apprehend the police officers involved—specifically the shooter, who has been deprived of his liberty since the very moment of the events. Despite this, delays in the process were constant; there was a clear intention from the State to let this crime go unpunished.

The loss of our only son left an immense void for my wife and me. So deep was the pain that, one year later, it claimed another victim: my wife. Thirteen months after Daniel was murdered by the regime, Glenis Araca, my wife, decided to take her own life in our home, after struggling for a long time against the depression that accompanied her from the murder of our son until her final days.

Even so, after four years of procedural delay—and despite the fact that charges against six (6) officers were never filed—following countless sleepless hours and endless tears, I can say that on February 20, 2021, two Carabobo state police officers were sentenced to 26 years and 3 months in prison for murdering my son.