Genesis Carmona Is the Second Beauty Queen Murdered in Venezuela, Fifth Fatality During Violent Protests
When you are a beauty queen, one of your goals is to represent your country to the best of your ability through your talent, message, and inner and outer beauty -- and most importantly to radiate pride for your country.
So when the people of Venezuela, friends and family and the rest of the world heard the news that they lost yet another beauty queen, Miss Turismo 2013, Genesis Carmona, who was shot in the head on Feb. 18 during anti-government protests, many were left in shock and disbelief at the injustices that are occurring in a place they call home.
The 22-year-old beauty queen was reportedly shot by an unidentified gunman who opened fire on demonstrators in Valencia, Venezuela, bringing the death toll to five in just a week. Carmona was taken to the hospital by a bystander who scooped her up in his arms and put her on his motorbike. Despite his effort to rush her to the hospital, doctors were unable to save her life, even with emergency surgery.
'How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?' a relative of Carmona said, The Daily Mail reports. "She only needed one more semester to graduate."
The statuesque beauty, who was also a marketing student, had a thriving modeling career that included working her magic on the catwalks at Venezuela In Moda and Fashion Week Valencia, according to Voxxi. She also modeled for reputable designers Eduardo Kano, Olga Bolaños, Eduardo Macero and Franco Montoro.
Carmona is Venezuela's second beauty queen to die due to violence in the nation over the last two months. In January, former Miss Venezuela, Monica Spear, 29, and her ex-husband were fatally shot in front of her five-year-old daughter (who was shot in the leg) during a botched robbery when their car broke down on the side of the road.
"Venezuela is one of the world's most violent countries, according to a United Nations ranking," CNN reports. "One person is killed roughly every 21 minutes in Venezuela. And there were 24,700 violent deaths last year in the oil-rich country of roughly 30 million people, according to the nonprofit Venezuelan Violence Observatory."
Former Miss Venezuela and Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, among many other celebrities, shared her thoughts and outrage at the violence that is occurring in the country of her birthplace.
No más muertes por favooooor!!! No más heridos! No más violencia! Todos somos Venezuela! Hasta cuándo!!!??? No más!!... https://t.co/CnBKTYevUY
— Dayana Mendoza (@Dayanamendoza) February 20, 2014
Carmona's tragic death comes as Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López awaits his fate in jail -- the 42-year-old Harvard graduate and economist was charged for violence that has erupted during protests that have revitalized challenges to 15 years of socialist rule.
"The opposition has planned nationwide marches for Saturday to protest both his detention as well as the rampant crime, shortages of consumer goods and inflation rate of more than 50 percent that has made life difficult for many in the country of nearly 30 million people," according to The Daily Mail.
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