Behind the turquoise waters, white sand and luxury hotels, there is a reality that the postcards do not show: Cape Verde is by far the worst destination that anyone can choose, which is highlighted by the torture and humiliation of the that the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab has been subjected to since his abduction on June 12, 2020.
So if the Cape Verdean authorities carry out the arrest and kidnapping of a Special Envoy from a sovereign nation, who enjoys immunity enshrined in the Vienna Convention, what can happen to an ordinary tourist in a country where the law is not respected? Here we leave some considerations so that you think twice before buying the ticket.
Arrest of Alex Saab on a humanitarian mission
The arrest of Ambassador Alex Saab constitutes a serious precedent for violations of human rights and international conventions, as it is a diplomat who was forcibly taken down with a false order from Interpol while his plane was refueling to continue to Iran, in the middle of a humanitarian mission to buy food, medicine and fuel for the Venezuelan people.
Since then, Alex Saab has lived through a nightmare: physical and psychological torture, permanent 24-hour surveillance, he has been held incommunicado and does not receive the medical attention that he deserves as an oncology patient. His parents died from covid-19 and he was not allowed to say goodbye to them, violating numbers 37 and 92 of the Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Inmates of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR).
And the most scandalous, despite the rulings of the Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Court of Human Rights, in which it is ordered to stop the extradition process to the United States and to put in Alex Saab released, the authorities of the African country turn a deaf ear and refuse to comply with the laws, obeying the pressure of their new masters.
Money laundering and sexual abuse
In addition, it is no secret to anyone that Cape Verde is the main destination for the misnamed “sex tourism”, because unfortunately many women and girls are forced to prostitute themselves as a means of escape from their countries of origin, as well as Western women who want to "hang out" with young people from the island.
Not satisfied with that, according to the report delivered by the Cape Verde Attorney General's Office corresponding to 2019-2020, 587 cases of sexual crimes were registered, which in proportion to the number of inhabitants represents 9.36% and the crime rate for every 100 thousand inhabitants there are 187.37 victims of sexual violence. Not to mention the controversial measures taken in court in favor of those accused of sexual abuse of minors.
On the other hand, on June 15 Pangea Risk, an intelligence specialist company, published a special report on how the pandemic has eroded Cape Verde's political and judicial institutions.
The document states that currently “the Cape Verde archipelago in the central Atlantic Ocean has suffered one of the most acute impacts of the global pandemic that has begun to undermine the country's political and judicial institutions as the State grows increasingly desperate to obtain new sources of financing ”.
So, in the midst of one of the deepest economic crises, Cape Verde currently has the third largest gross public debt burden in proportion to its economic output, so that “local state institutions do not have funds and are vulnerable to the intimidation, extortion and corruption of criminal elements ”.
Thus, it would be necessary to think very well before risking to visit a country in which not even its own citizens enjoy the slightest judicial guarantees; it's an unnecessary hazard just from a little sun and sand.
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