A/HRC/45/CRP.11 CASE 5: Detention of Three Individuals – “Operation Tun Tun”993 470. On 17 May 2017, during his programme “Con el Mazo Dando,” Diosdado Cabello announced “Operation Tun Tun” against individuals he accused of supporting terrorism.994 “Tun tun”, according to Mr. Cabello, was the sound of officers knocking on a suspect’s door before arrest. Mr. Cabello also presented items apparently seized at customs including gas masks, first aid kits, golf balls, tubing and pellets.995 These items were not illegal in Venezuela, but Mr. Cabello alleged that terrorists used them in violence. 471. Mr. Cabello announced those importing the items could also be prosecuted under the anti-terrorism law, stating, “they’ll get more stick than a thieving cat” (“Van a llevar más palo que un gato ladrón”), a phrase subsequently quoted widely in media and social networks.996 Mr. Cabello promoted #OperacionTunTunxLaPaz as his hashtag of the week during the following programme, which aired on 24 May 2017.997 472. Operation Tun Tun became an informal moniker for SEBIN arrest operations targeting people supporting protests or the opposition more generally. 998 On 30 March 2020, President Maduro stated in a press conference, “Justice will come for you, Operation Tun Tun, to all the terrorists, the violent ones, the conspirators, and all the plotters. To all of them. […] Even to you, you who are watching me, it will come for you. You don’t think it will get you? Justice will come for you, when they knock on your door. Tun Tun. Don’t go crying on social media.”999 473. On 24 June 2017, during a commemorative military event in Carabobo, Nicolás Maduro stated that military courts would try and severely punish those detained in Tun Tun operations.1000 The Arrest 474. SEBIN officers launched an operation to detain a well-known opposition figure on a date that the Mission cannot reveal.1001 The figure in question had recently attended an antiGovernment demonstration. The Mission verified information shared on social media, showing around 40 SEBIN officers on motorcycles and in trucks conducting door-to-door 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 Names, dates and identifying details of this case have been anonymised. YouTube Video, Noticias 24, Con el Mazo Dando 17/05/2017, live streamed 17 May 2017, minute 22:00, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9uBb8fPyQI Ibid. See, for example, El Nacional, Diosdado Cabello: Comenzó la operación «Tun tun» contra los terroristas, 17 May 2017, available at: https://www.elnacional.com/gobierno/diosdado-cabellocomenzo-operacion-tun-tun-contra-los-terroristas_182847/; Efecto Cocuyo, Cabello amenaza con allanamientos a través de la “Operación tun tun”, 17 May 2017, available at: https://efectococuyo.com/politica/cabello-amenaza-con-allanamientos-a-traves-de-la-operacion-tuntun/; BBC, Cómo es el programa de Diosdado Cabello "Con el mazo dando", el show más polémico de la televisión venezolana, 31 May 2019, available at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticiasamerica-latina-48473819; https://twitter.com/ReporteYa/status/865002986149265408. YouTube Video, Noticias24, Con el Mazo Dando 24/05/2017, 24 May 2017, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fZ6Brhy9Dk “Operation Tun Tun” is used by both officers and in social media alike. See for example, https://www.facebook.com/DenseMemesHighlyCarteluo/photos/ya-te-cayo-la-operacion-tun-tunmmgchavista-sapo/468217607005293/; in May 2020, Diosdado Cabello threatened that Operation Tun Tun would come for academics who created fear around the Covid-19 pandemic: YouTube Video, NTN24, “Con El Mazo Dando - Programa 301 | 13/05/2020, 13 May 2020, minute 37:15, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQXj-UDpBU4 YouTube Video, Multimedio VTV, Justicia y Operación Tun Tun le llegará a los intentos terroristas contra Venezuela, 30 March 2020, video on file with the Mission. Statement made at ceremony commemorating the 196th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo, in which he also announced new military promotions. See, Bien Dateao, Todos los detenidos en la operación tun-tun están bajo justicia militar, 25 June 2017, available at: http://biendateao.com/todoslos-detenidos-en-la-operacion-tun-tun-estan-bajo-justicia-militar/ Protection concerns in this case prevent the Mission from revealing the names of the arrestees and the date of arrest. 113