El Amparo de Apure
El Amparo de Apure is a place or seat of a parish of the municipality of Páez in the state of Apure in Venezuela . El Amparo is right on the border with Colombia; it is connected to the city of Arauca by a bridge. In addition to the capital Guasdualito and Ciudad Sucre , El Amparo is the most important place in its municipality. It has about 14,800 inhabitants (2005).
El Amparo was founded in the late 18th century as El Amparo del Paso Real de Arauca on the opposite side of what is now the Colombian city of Arauca on the Río Arauca . Since 1846 El Amparo is officially a parish and thus registered as an administrative unit.
Today the economy of El Amparo is mainly characterized by trade. It houses a second class customs office. Since it is on the Río Arauca, fishing is also important. The area, a wooded savannah landscape at the foot of the Andes, is dominated by agriculture and forestry.
In 1988, fishermen were shot at by the Venezuelan military in El Amparo, and 14 were killed. The perpetrators were an elite unit that was supposed to take action against rebels. The soldiers were acquitted in military courts. In 1995 the International Court of Human Rights ruled that the Colombian army was responsible for the massacre, Venezuela has since disregarded the judgment.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Apure. Proyección de la población por municipios y parroquias, al (30-06) 1990 - 2020 , Universidad de Los Andes , Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (accessed February 22, 2008)
- ↑ Argenis Méndez Echenique, Historia de Apure ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed February 21, 2008).
- ↑ Die Zeit: The Unatoned Massacre , October 28, 2011
Coordinates: 7 ° 6 ′ N , 70 ° 46 ′ W