The War for Power in Venezuela’s Countryside

by Marco Teruggi

teleSUR | June 19, 2017

Since opposition protests began in Venezuela in early April, much of the media coverage has focused on clashes in Caracas. However, the opposition’s campaign to bring down the government of Nicolas Maduro has not been limited to the country’s capital.

Marco Teruggi reports on a recent visit to the small, but strategic town of Socopo, in the largely rural state Barinas, which has been the site of a campaign of terror and an all-out struggle for power.

It was original published at 15 y Ultimo and has been translated by Green Left Weekly’s Federico Fuentes.

Interventionist Moves Against Venezuela Fail Again at OAS Meeting

teleSUR | June 19, 2017

A motorcyclist rides past a mural depicting Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez in Sabaneta, Venezuela, June 13, 2017. | Photo: Reuters

Two opposing resolutions submitted at the Organization of American States to discuss the situation in Venezuela prior to its annual meeting has again led to the failure of interventionist moves by U.S.-backed forces, as both proposals put forth did not receive the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

Hours before the meeting scheduled for 2 p.m., local time, Peru withdrew a draft resolution on the country Monday shortly before foreign ministers were set to meet to discuss the political situation in Venezuela in hopes of adopting a resolution on the issue. The proposal put forward by Peru, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Panama and supported by other countries, called for the government of President Nicolas Maduro to be condemned and attempted to put a stop the National Constituent Assembly to rewrite the Venezuelan Constitution.

What Marxism Teaches Us About Protests in Venezuela

by Ramiro S. Fúnez

teleSUR | 22 May, 2017

Freedom. Democracy. Stability.

These are the demands that mainstream media will have you believe are behind ongoing anti-government opposition protests in Venezuela, which have since claimed over 50 lives.

Borrowing plot lines from “David and Goliath,” the alphabet soup of corporate news outlets perpetuate the same ill-conceived dichotomy. On one side are the powerless, peace-loving democrats protesting for political freedom. On the other side is the powerful, violent authoritarian government fighting against those demands.

Venezuela Opposition Protesters Kill Police Chief, Injure 3

teleSUR | June 13, 2017

Slain Merida Police Chief Douglas Acevedo Sanchez (L) and a Venezuelan opposition protester (R) | Photo: Policia de Merida and Reuters

Merida Police Chief Douglas Acevedo Sanchez leaves behind three children.

 

Alexis Ramirez, governor of Venezuela’s Merida state, announced Tuesday the murder of one police officer and the injury of three other people at the hands of right-wing opposition protesters.

The protesters, according to Ramirez, fired several rounds during an afternoon opposition demonstration in the state’s Libertador municipality.

Arson, Killings and Chaos: Photos of Venezuela’s ‘Peaceful’ Protesters

by RYAN MALLETT-OUTTRIM

VENEZUELANALYSIS.COM | May 05, 2017

The past week has seen yet another round of violence, as the opposition continues to demand the overthrow of the government. While the protesters have been largely depicted in the international media as victims of police repression, the reality is a little more complicated. A picture says a thousand words, so here’s some photos of those ‘peaceful’ protesters being repressed.

Protesters torch a National Guard armoured personnel carrier (APC). (AVN)

Venezuelan Govt. to Sue Borges for Interfering With Economy

teleSUR | June 02, 2017

Vice President El Aissami announced a lawsuit against opposition leader Julio Borges for attempting to interfere with foreign investment in Venezuela. | Photo: Reuters

Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami announced on Thursday that the government would be launching a lawsuit against right-wing opposition leader and president of the National Assembly, Julio Borges, for his efforts to hinder foreign investment in the Venezuelan economy.

Venezuela Accuses European Parliament of Encouraging Violence

teleSUR | May 29, 2017

Right-wing opposition protesters in Venezuela have left over 70 dead. | Photo: Reuters

A Venezuelan diplomat accused the European Parliament Monday of approving resolutions that have a “negative effect on Venezuela because they encourage violence instead of condemning it explicitly.”

“The position of the European Parliament is clearly interventionist,” Venezuela’s EU Vice Minister Yvan Gil said to reporters in Brussels. “There is an alliance between right-wing factions in the European Parliament and right-wing, violent factions in Venezuela.”

Authoritarianism in Venezuela? A Reply to Gabriel Hetland

by LUCAS KOERNER

VENEZUELANALYSIS.COM | May 19, 2017

Venezuelan opposition protesters burn a National Bolivarian Police motorcycle at an anti-government barricade in the affluent eastern Caracas municipality of Chacao. (AVN)

Venezuela is once again dominating international headlines as violent opposition protests bent on toppling the elected Maduro government enter their seventh week. The demonstrations have claimed to date at least 54 lives since April 4, surpassing the previous wave of violent anti-government protests in 2014, known as “the Exit”. However, this time around, the unrest coincides with a severe economic downturn and a transformed geopolitical landscape defined by the return of the right in Brazil and Argentina as well as an even more bellicose regime in Washington.

Meanwhile, the international outcry at this latest violent effort to oust the Chavista government has been far more muffled than the last time.

Maduro Condemns Violence as Venezuela Death Toll Nears 40

by RYAN MALLETT-OUTTRIM

venezuelanalysis.com | May 05, 2017

Speaking at the Tiuna Military Fort in Caracas, Maduro called for an end to “violence and guarimbas”. (AVN)

Puebla, Mexico, May 5, 2017 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke out Thursday against the wave of political violence gripping his country, as the death toll continued to rise.

Speaking at the Tiuna Military Fort in Caracas, Maduro called for an end to “violence and guarimbas”. Guarimba is a term used to refer to violent demonstrations that use street barricades to shut down neighbourhoods across the country.

Venezuela: MEPs Back Regime Change In Caracas

by James Tweedie

Morning Star | April 28, 2017

EURO-MPs backed regime change riots in Venezuela yesterday, a day after Caracas quit the “interventionist” Organisation of American States (OAS).

The European Parliament passed a resolution that “strongly condemns the brutal repression exercised by the Venezuelan security forces, as well as irregular armed groups, against the peaceful protests.”

That came as the death toll in violent anti-government protests since the start of the month hit 29, with only four known to be caused by security forces and those responsible arrested.

At least five have been confirmed killed by supporters of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) coalition, five by unknown assailants and nine as a result of their own actions.