Street violence brings Maduro to ‘brink of civil war’
Police hit back with tear gas as angry crowds take to Venezuela’s streets to show opposition to failing leader
MORE THAN 200,000 Venezuelans took to the streets this weekend to mark the 50th day of protests against President Nicolás Maduro, as the country struggles with dire food shortages.
In the eastern district of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, protesters hurled Molotov cocktails and rocks at police, who responded with tear gas.
Mr Maduro’s critics say he is to blame for the country’s crippled economy, which has led to widespread protests, street looting and rioting over the past seven weeks, with at least 47 dead.
More than 40 protesters have been injured during protests in Caracas alone, with one woman reportedly mown down by a car and another engulfed in flames after a police motorbike exploded.
In the western city of San Cristóbal in Táchira state, Mr Maduro deployed around 2,700 soldiers to quell the violence after 40,000 people took to the streets on Saturday.
With supplies of food, medicine, soap and even toilet paper running out, protesters are demanding early elections to remove Mr Maduro, who took over the from Hugo Chávez in 2013.
Venezuela has been badly hit by the fall in the price of oil – an income stream that had funded huge social reforms under Chávez.
Inflation rates are also soaring, with prices set to rise by 720 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. And there is an escalating war of words between Mr Maduro and Donald Trump, who has hit the ailing socialist regime with sanctions.
Mr Maduro furiously responded to that move last week by saying Mr Trump should “get his dirty hands out of Venezuela”, claiming that “President Trump’s aggressions against the Venezuelan people, its government and its institutions have surpassed all limits”.
Yesterday, Marco Rubio, the Republican senator, urged Mr Maduro to hold elections as “breaks” began to form in his government. “Maduro is not a president, he’s a dictator right now. They’ve cancelled the constitution, tried to dictate the national assembly,” he said. “And what I would say is: stick to the constitution that Chávez wrote. They are meant to have an election. Any free and fair election in Venezuela – there is no way Maduro will win. We are beginning to see breaks. The attorney general, she is distancing herself. “Hopefully there will be people in the military who will refuse to co-operate with these human-rights violations that are continuing to take place.”
Hundreds have been injured during the 50 days of protests, while 2,200 people have been detained and 161 imprisoned by military tribunals. Federal prosecutors said they are investigating police officers and soldiers who are accused of shooting unruly protesters.
A recent survey found that as many as 70 per cent of Venezuelans now want to see Mr Maduro removed from power as he increasingly relies on military support to maintain any control. He recently announced plans for a “popular assembly” that would rewrite parts of the constitution, but this only enraged protesters further.
They claim the assembly is a ploy to avoid holding elections, while Mr Maduro said they would offer “a path to peace, dialogue and consensus”. He insisted that elections would go ahead next year, as required by law.
Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, a reader in Hispanic studies at Kent University, said: “Venezuela is at the brink of breaking into civil war.
“There have been protests going on for months, but they have been simmering and now we are reaching breaking point.
“Those who have been protesting for 18 months tended to be from the opposition. Those joining now are realising they no longer support the regime.
“In the last two weeks the situation has deteriorated very rapidly. It will continue to deteriorate very quickly unless some possible solution is found.”
Dr Perea warned that there was no clear, easy solution to the crisis because Mr Maduro had such a tight grip on the military.
“Maduro is supported by a very strong army who control the distribution of food stuff and the economy,” she said. “The army still has all the resources under control. There is a fear of repercussion if he [Maduro] is ousted: if they fall, they all fall together. They are still reaping the benefits. If you are part of the regime, you do not have food shortages and you do not have problems.
“There has been a lot of support [for Maduro] from Ecuador, Cuba and Bolivia. But it is less likely that it continues with dead people on the street.
“The most hopeful possibility is negotiated action. Help is needed from Cuba and Colombia to try to find some dialogue.”