Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención

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The Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención (Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services, DISIP) is the premier intelligence agency of Venezuela. It was established in January, 1958 by the then-president of Venezuela Marcos Perez Jimenez. DISIP is an internal security force subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. As of May 2005, the Minister of the Interior and Justice of the Venezuelan Government is the Chávez-appointed Jesse Chacón.

DISIP officers dress either in black uniforms or plain clothes and drive yellow and black cars.

DISIP has an extensive record of human rights violations, from its foundation as hard-line dictator's Pérez-Jiménez's secret police, who were in charge of torturing so-called "enemies of State", to recent allegations of torture and murder of political opponents.[1][2][3] In their 1997 and 1998 reports, Amnesty International details human rights violations by DISIP, including unlawful detention of Venezuelan human rights activists.1997 AI Report 1998 AI Report

A murderous rampage against suspected looters in the state of Vargas following the 1999 mudslides became, according to Human Rights Watch, "the first major human rights test of the Chávez government. At first, Chávez dismissed the reports as 'suspicious' and 'superficial,' but the evidence soon obliged the president and other top government officials to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation."[4][5] Human Rights Watch expressed their deep concern over DISIP (and National Guard) abuse in Venezuela in a 2004 personal letter to President Hugo Chávez.[6] Amnesty International has also expressed concern over excessive use of force by the DISIP, and the increasing polarization and political violence in Venezuela since Chávez was elected in december of 1998.[7]