|
Maduro’s War Against the Poor Is Also Against Native Venezuelans
VICTOR DRAX AND RAFAEL OSIO I caracaschronicles.com
February 26, 2019
On February 22nd and 23rd, in and near the Venezuelan small city of Santa Elena de Uairen, near the border with Brazil, a red string of violent events stretched along days one and two of the attempt to bring international humanitarian aid into Venezuela, besides the hours of military and paramilitary repression in Ureña and San Antonio del Tachira, several hundred kilometers to the West, on the border with Colombia.
This started in the early hours of February 22nd, at the indigenous Pemon community of San Francisco de Yuruari, when a group of Pemones tried to stop a military convoy sent to block the access of the humanitarian cargo from Brazil. The soldiers, GNB and Army, opened fire against the demonstrators, and a bullet killed a woman who was at that time making breakfast for her family.
The Pemon native security managed to take four prisoners, all of them officers, including a GNB general, José Montoya. Just after, the violence moved to Santa Elena de Uairen, a very well known base for those who have traveled through the magnificent Gran Sabana. Read more
|
|
|
|
Univision Team Deported From Venezuela After Maduro Interview
REUTERS I nytimes.com
February 26, 2019
Venezuela on Tuesday deported a team from U.S. television network Univision after anchor Jorge Ramos said authorities detained them at the presidential palace because President Nicolas Maduro was upset by their interview questions.
The six-person team was held for more than two hours and had their equipment confiscated, Ramos told reporters on Monday evening after arriving back at his Caracas hotel which was surrounded by intelligence agents.
Ramos and his team left the hotel on Tuesday morning guarded by personnel from the U.S. and Mexican embassies while intelligence agents escorted them to Caracas' Maiquetia airport. They left on a midday flight to Miami, according to Reuters witnesses. Read more
|
|
|
|
The Auto-Siege of Venezuela and the Politics of Hunger
CLIFTON ROSS I caracaschronicles.com
February 23, 2019
One of the oldest tactics used to destroy a heavily defended enemy citadel has always been the siege. No matter how powerful the enemy, hunger would eventually destroy him, and he would surrender. The siege continues to be used in times of war, but also in times of peace, in some form, against people deemed enemies by using food as a weapon.
The “weaponization of food” is rare for a leader to use against his own people, but in the twentieth century it became an essential component in controlling the population under Lenin and forcing them into submission to the “vanguard.” I’ve written about this before, but the story needs to be updated now that Maduro has taken this policy to a new level with the auto-siege of his country. Read more
|
|
|
|
|
|
UN rights chief condemns Venezuela violence
ASSOCIATED PRESS I washingtonpost.com
February 24, 2019
The U.N.’s high commissioner for human rights is condemning violence at points on the Venezuelan border where opposition figures have been trying to bring in aid shipments.
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet focused her criticism on excessive use of force used by the Venezuelan security forces, as well the involvement of pro-government groups. She said Sunday that has led to at least four confirmed deaths and more than 300 injuries over the previous two days.
She said, “The Venezuelan government must stop its forces from using excessive force against unarmed protesters and ordinary citizens.”
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro is using his troops to block shipments of aid that are meant to undermine his authority and bolster that of opposition leader Juan Guaido. Read more
|
|
|
|
Arbitrary Detentions since January 1th, 2014
885 political prisoners
Source: Foro Penal
February 26, 2019
|
|
|
|
IACHR Concerned about Harassment against Human Rights Defenders in Venezuela
PRESS RELEASE I iachr.org
February 22, 2019
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is concerned about constant harassment against human rights defenders in Venezuela. The IACHR urges the Venezuelan State to take urgent action to ensure that human rights defenders can work in the country without being subjected to intimidation.
In recent years, the Commission has repeatedly asked the Venezuelan State to take measures to counter stigmatization and harassment campaigns against human rights defenders in that country. In the context of the ongoing crisis, the IACHR has been informed of threats against Marco Antonio Ponce, chairman of the organization Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS), who has been a beneficiary of IACHR precautionary measures since 2015 and was previously subjected to smear campaigns by several pro-government media. On January 25, the pro-government news website Misión Verdad allegedly published a story that portrayed protests around the country in January 2019 as destabilizing events funded by NGOs that promote and seek “to extend to poorer neighborhoods this rationale of hatred and confrontation.” Read more
|
|
|
|
|
