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An old incident from Venezuela where a man’s tongue and fingers were severed is falsely shared as a recent incident in Bangladesh

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A post accompanied by a video going viral on social media claims that Hindus in Bangladesh are being subjected to brutal acts, including the severing of tongues, hands, feet, and necks. The post also claims these acts are carried out with a sense of gratification. Let’s verify the claim through this article.

Disclaimer: This article contains sensitive visuals that may distress some viewers, reader discretion is advised.

The archived post can be found here.

Claim:  Muslims in Bangladesh are cutting off the tongues, hands, feet, and necks of Hindus.

Fact: The incident in the viral video dates back to 2019 when the Venezuelan Army found a 19-year-old Leocer Jose Lugo Maiz during a raid on an illegal gold mine. A former soldier declared a deserter, he was reportedly trying to survive by illegal mining. After being caught, the Army gouged out his eyes and severed his tongue and fingers. He was taken to Dr. Juan Germán Roscio Hospital in El Callao for treatment. This incident has no connection to Bangladesh. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.

A Google reverse image search led us to a tweet from January 2019 by a journalist Pableysa Ostos, featuring a similar viral image. The tweet mentions a 19-year-old man admitted to Dr. Juan Germán Roscio’s hospital from the Yin Yan mine in El Callao, located in southern Bolívar. According to police reports, “the man had both hands amputated, his tongue cut out, and his eyes removed.”

Taking a clue from the tweet, a Google keyword search led us to multiple media reports (here and here). According to these reports, 19-year-old Leocer Jose Lugo Maiz was found by the Venezuelan Army during a raid on the illegal Yin Yan gold mine. Maiz, who used to be in the Army, was declared a deserter. He was reportedly trying to survive by mining gold illegally. After the Army caught him, they gouged out his eyes and cut off his tongue and fingers. He was later taken to Dr. Juan Germán Roscio Hospital in El Callao for treatment.

To sum up, an old incident from Venezuela where a man’s tongue and fingers were severed is being falsely shared as a recent incident in Bangladesh.

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