Human rights defender José Luis Urbano was shot and wounded on 10 February, in his home town of Barcelona, in the northern state of Anzoátegui. He is the president of an NGO working to protect the right to education, Pro-Defensa del Derecho a la Educación (Organisation for the Defence of the Right to Education). He is not receiving any official protection. The attack appears to have been linked to his public criticism of the quality of the education available to poor children in the state, and allegations of corruption.
