Venezuela's Socialist government has warned it will suspend the passports of arrested protesters for five years amid a hardening crackdown on the bloody unrest that has spread nationwide in recent weeks, threatening to consume the volatile oil-rich nation.
| I don't think the protesters are planning on leaving, I think they're planning on staying... |
Anger erupted among demonstrators in Caracas, as news broke on Friday night of the Interior Ministry resolution that anyone detained for disturbing the peace and the public order or participating in acts of violence would be barred from leaving the country. "We're turning into Cuba", government opponents wailed as they once again took to the streets for the daily protests that have now claimed nine lives nationwide.
| This might be your last chance of avoiding Cuba's fate. And, as it turns out, Cuban troops are being brought into your country to ensure that you end up like them. |
The country was braced for further clashes on Saturday as government supporters and opponents gathered for large rival rallies in the capital. As the protests began, Ernesto Villegas, the minister of state for the revolutionary transformation of greater Caracas, warned the country was in "a spiral of death and destruction". "We can still stop a civil war," he urged.
| Not the way you're behaving you can't. People have finally gotten brave enough to ask the question that brings down every tyrant: "Say, you guys are pretty stupid. Who put you in charge?" |
On Friday, President Nicolas Maduro accused US intelligence services of giving the "green light for the overthrow" of the Venezuelan government, which has long sparred with the "empire" to the north. He had already expelled three US diplomats, claiming they had conspired with the students who have formed the core of the protests as part of a "far right" plot similar to that which unseated his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, for 36 hours in 2002. But he also, unusually called for talks with Washington, an indication perhaps of fears he may be losing control of the crisis.
| Perhaps he's becoming aware that he could have a Mussolini (or Najibullah) moment... |
John Kerry, the foolish US secretary of state, earlier criticised the government's actions to quell the protests. "The government's use of force and judicial intimidation against citizens and political figures ... is unacceptable and will only increase the likelihood of violence," he said in a statement, adding: "This is not how democracies behave."
| Noticed that did you Jahwn? What was the first clue, the rubber bullets? Good news though is that since Jahwn has said something, our MSM can now report on Venezuela... |
On Thursday, the government ordered paratroopers into the border city of San Cristobal, the birthplace of the protests where protesters have been engaged in fierce battles with security forces. The internet was cut off and residents said they were living in a "war zone", with the town fully occupied by the army and military helicopters and planes flying overhead.
From the fray has emerged Leopoldo Lopez, a key opposition figure who has taken the lead in a hardline protest movement under the slogan "The Exit", meaning Mr Maduro's departure from power. Declared "the face of fascism" by the leftist leader, Mr Lopez is now languishing in a military jail outside Caracas on charges of arson, damage and criminal gatherings, accused of orchestrating protest violence in order to justify a coup d'etat.
On Friday the wealthy 42-year-old Harvard economist urged the protesters not to give up. In a note from prison released through his wife, he said: "To the police, soldiers, prosecutors and judges: do not obey unjust orders, do not become the face of repression.
"To the youth, to the protesters, I ask you to stay firm against violence, and to stay organised and disciplined. This is everyone's struggle."
| I hope God protects that man; he's going to be needed. |
Mr Lopez and his supporters insist the government is to blame for the protest violence, claiming they are tacitly endorsing radical Chavista armed groups to attack opposition protesters. They also complain of excessive violence by security forces, who have used tear gas, buckshot and water cannon to disperse protesters, and allege that some of those detained have been tortured.
While opposition leaders insist they are not agitating for an overthrow, some of their supporters acknowledge they have lost patience with attempts to unseat the government through the ballot box. They accuse the ruling Socialists of electoral fraud, and note that almost half of the Venezuelan electorate are reliant on state jobs or subsidy programmes, with heavy pressure to vote for the government.
Alberto Delfante, an opposition supporter in Caracas, told the Telegraph: "I don't believe this government will ever surrender democratically. If they become very threatened they could simply announce a dictatorship, what would we do then?
"What we're seeing now is very much like what it looked like in 2002 (the coup d'etat). I'd like to see this government forcibly removed, but we don't know what the reaction of the chavistas would be." |