Bolivarian Intelligence Service
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Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional SEBIN |
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Seal of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service
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Flag of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | June 2, 2010 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Headquarters | Caracas, Venezuela |
| Employees | Classified |
| Agency executive | |
| Parent agency | Ministry of Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace |
The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Spanish: Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. It was established in March 1969 with the name of DISIP, Dirección Nacional de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención ("National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services"), by then-president Rafael Caldera, replacing the Dirección General de Policía (DIGEPOL). SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Ministry of Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace.
The Venezuelan political police has an extensive record of human rights violations, from its foundation as hard-line dictator's Marcos Pérez Jiménez's police, who were in charge of torturing so-called "enemies of State", to its role as a base of operations against post-Revolution Cuba for the Central Intelligence Agency and Cuban exiles such as Luis Posada Carriles (who headed the Counterintelligence division), to recent allegations of torture and murder of political opponents. In their 1997 and 1998 reports, Amnesty International details human rights violations by DISIP, including unlawful detention of Venezuelan human rights activists.
In 1999, President Hugo Chávez began the restructuring of DISIP, with commanders and analysts being selected for their political attributes and rumors of some armed civilian groups gaining credentials from such actions. A retired SEBIN commissioner explained that there began to be "biased and incomplete reports, tailored to the new ears, that began to proliferate and ultimately affects the ability of the institution to process information and know what happens". On December 4, 2009, President Chávez, during a swearing-in ceremony for the high command of the recently created Bolivarian National Police (Policía Nacional Bolivariana), announced the change of name of DISIP, with immediate effect, to Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia, or SEBIN).
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