A/HRC/45/CRP.11 CASE 7: Geraldine Chacón and Gregory Hinds (Community Ambassadors Foundation) 523. The Community Ambassadors Foundation (FEC) is a voluntarily staffed educational NGO founded in Venezuela in 2008, working on youth empowerment with marginalized communities.1090 The organization is unaffiliated with any political party. In previous years, the organization participated in Model United Nation competitions, including in New York.1091 524. Geraldine Chacón is a Venezuelan lawyer who at the time of her arrest worked for the Venezuelan Central Bank as a legal adviser. She had volunteered with FEC since 2015, and assumed the role of Director of the Ambassador’s Program in 2017. 1092 Gregory Hinds is a Venezuelan-Barbadian dual national lawyer who, at the time of his arrest, worked as a professor at a private school in Caracas. He was Director General of FEC in 2017. Public Statements 525. On the 17 January 2018 edition of “Con el Mazo Dando”, Diosdado Cabello accused various NGOs of raising funds for nefarious purposes. He erroneously named a woman as the director of FEC, claiming she was responsible for indoctrinating Venezuelan youth with capitalism.1093 He associated FEC with opposition members David Smolansky and Francisco Márquez and the NGO Humanitarian Action for Venezuela, a charity Mr. Cabello accused of supporting the political opposition.1094 526. On 24 January 2018, Mr. Cabello claimed SEBIN had dismantled an NGO called “Brave Heart” (Corazón Valiente) accused of being a terrorist cell funded by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. He showed a video and photos of the detainees, and stated “Operation Tun Tun” was underway to capture additional members of Brave Heart. 1095 Intelligence Report 527. A SEBIN intelligence report dated 30 January 2018 links Brave Heart to FEC via Víctor Navarro, who had been a beneficiary and volunteer with FEC until approximately 2014.1096 According to Mr. Navarro, SEBIN officers redirected their questioning away from Brave Heart and onto FEC after they saw FEC on his Facebook page during his interrogation. He alerted his lawyer before his initial court appearance that SEBIN would likely pursue FEC directors in the following days.1097 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón, 13 May 2020; Mission Interview with Gregory Hinds, 19 May 2020; According to its mission statement, “The Community Ambassadors Foundation, led by a team of more than 50 socially-conscious university students and professionals, has a mission to instill leadership skills through the Model United Nations methodology to talented adolescents in marginalized contexts”. See archived website here: http://web.archive.org/web/20180812064734/http://embajadorescomunitarios.org.ve/ Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón on 13 May 2020; Mission Interview with Gregory Hinds on 19 May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE08 in May 2020. Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón on 13 May 2020; Mission Interview with Gregory Hinds on 19 May 2020. Con el Mazo Dando, ONG y prófugos de la justicia venezolana piden dinero dizque para supuestas ayudas, 17 January 2018, available at: https://www.conelmazodando.com.ve/ong-y-profugos-de-lajusticia-venezolana-piden-dinero-dizque-para-supuestas-ayudas YouTube Video, Noticias Venezuela, “Con El Mazo Dando 17/01/2018,” 17 January 2018, minute 03:31:50, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJiiZ6bpdFc&t=3004s YouTube Video, Noticias24, Con el Mazo Dando 24/01/2018, 24 January 2018, minute 02:3700, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXQPAuIhGpU; Humanitarian Action for Venezuela’s vision statement indicates the NGO aims “To be officers of change for the generations that have suffered the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and help reduce the social impact caused by shortages in medications, supplies, food commodities and education offering integrated solutions”, available at: https://accionhumanitariaporvenezuela.com/en/ Document C2EE06 on file with the Mission; Mission Interview with Geraldine Chacón on 13 May 2020; Mission Interview with Gregory Hinds on 19 May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE08 in May 2020. Mission Interview with Victor Navarro on 29 May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE06 in May 2020. 123