Venezuela protest ban dampens street opposition to Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (UPDATED) – Small numbers of protesters on Friday, July 28, defied a ban on demonstrations in Venezuela, ahead of a controversial weekend election called by President Nicolas Maduro that already has provoked deadly violence and international criticism.

Blockades went up across a few roads in Caracas and in a border town with Colombia, San Cristobal as well as in Maracaibo and Guayana, but was nothing on the massive scale seen earlier this week before the ban took effect.

“It’s normal that there’s fear, but people are still coming out into the streets despite it all,” a lawmaker in the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Freddy Guevara, said at one of the Caracas protests.

Maduro on Thursday, July 27, warned that anyone taking part in new protests against the election on Sunday, July 30, to choose a “Constituent Assembly” tasked with rewriting Venezuela’s constitution risks up to 10 years in prison.

The threat appeared to dampen public anti-government demonstrations of the sort that, in the past 4 months, have led to 113 deaths – 8 of them during a two-day general strike that ended Thursday.

The most recent reported fatality occurred Friday when an 18-year old protester was killed in San Cristobal.

Human rights organizers said that another activist – violinist Wuilly Atreaga, 23, who has become famous for playing the violin at anti-government protest – has been arrested by military personnel in Caracas. And Alfredo Ramos, an opposition mayor, was arrested for not lifting barricades under a court order.

Meanwhile, international censure of Maduro remained fierce.

US Vice President Mike Pence spoke by telephone to a detained prominent Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, who early this month was moved from prison to house arrest.

Maduro playing his ‘card’

In implicit support for the opposition, Pence praised Lopez’s “courage.”

He also called for the “unconditional release of all political prisoners in Venezuela, free and fair elections, restoration of the National Assembly, and respect for human rights in Venezuela,” a statement from his office said.

The United States this week imposed sanctions on 13 current and former Venezuelan officials, including police and army chiefs, over Maduro’s plan.

Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, also said his country would not recognize the results of Sunday’s election in Venezuela, calling the basis of the Constituent Assembly “spurious.”

Maduro has remained determined to see through his plan, however, with backing from a loyal military.

“We have a card to play: a card that will win this game. And that card is the National Constituent Assembly,” he said.

He urged the opposition to stop its “insurrection” and hold talks instead. The leftist president has repeatedly accused the US of fomenting the unrest against him.

The new assembly would comprise 545 citizens chosen from across the country, and from societal sectors over which Maduro’s government holds influence, which means opposition voices would be diluted or excluded.

The opposition, which calls the election of the body a ploy by an unpopular “dictator” to cling to power, has called for a boycott of the vote.

Some 70% of Venezuelans oppose plans for the constituent assembly, and 80% reject Maduro’s leadership, according to the polling firm Datanalisis.

‘Tense’ situation

An electoral expert, Eugenio Martinez, noted that most of Venezuela’s 20 million voters would be able to vote twice, raising questions about the validity of final turnout and balloting figures, especially with no credible election observers present.

Fears of open civil conflict have prompted thousands of Venezuelans to join an exodus into Colombia.

The neighboring country said it would give 150,000 Venezuelans who had overstayed permission to visit another 3 months before they have to leave.

On Thursday, the United States ordered families of its embassy staff in Venezuela to leave. Washington and Ottawa also warned against their citizens making non-essential travel to the country.

The United Nations human rights office said it was “deeply concerned” about the “very tense and very difficult situation” in Venezuela.

Air France on Saturday, July 29, announced it was suspending flights to Venezuela ahead of the weekend vote. The carrier said it was monitoring the situation.

Some in Maduro’s administration have broken ranks, most prominently his attorney general. Some diplomats resigned this week, including one at the United Nations and another at the embassy in Panama. – Rappler.com