‘The repression is very strong’
Venezuela goes through with threat to exit Organization of American States
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s government announced Wednesday it will go ahead with its threatened withdrawal from the Organization of American States, the regional body whose leader has been one of the fiercest critics of embattled socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
The move came on the same day as fierce confrontations in the capital between security forces and anti-government protesters who staged yet another march amid political unrest that has been blamed for 29 deaths in recent weeks. Clashes were also reported in other Venezuelan cities.
Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez called for the OAS withdrawal after a brief but contentious meeting at the group’s Washington headquarters in which its permanent council voted in favour of holding a special session to evaluate Venezuela’s crisis, adding to mounting international pressure for Maduro to schedule delayed elections and free detained political activists. Rodriguez said the OAS’s action was taken to “intervene and take custody of our country, something that fortunately will never happen.”
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have flooded the streets over the last month to demand an end to Maduro’s presidency. The protests have frequently ended in violent confrontations with security forces, which have used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds, and there also have been clashes with pro-government groups. The unrest shows no sign of slowing down. Thousands of protesters were marching Wednesday to deliver a message to the nation’s ombudsman, whose job is to stand up for citizens’ rights but who the opposition has tagged the “defenders of the dictator.” Demonstrators were stopped by state security forces launching tear gas as they marched on the main highway in Caracas.
“The repression is very strong,” said Luis Florido, an opposition lawmaker, as he dodged plumes of tear gas being hurled behind him.
Venezuela’s chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega Diaz, on Tuesday put a spotlight on the extent of the violence, saying more than 400 people had been injured and nearly 1,300 detained since the protests began in response to a Supreme Court ruling last month that stripped the opposition-controlled congress of much of its powers.
The decision was later partially reversed amid a storm of international criticism — and from Ortega Diaz herself.
Opposition leaders have blamed armed pro-government militias known as “colectivos” for a number of the deaths, while government officials have accused the opposition of working with criminal gangs to foment unrest.
Authorities announced Wednesday that Christian Humberto Ochoa Soriano, 22, was shot and killed during a Monday protest shortly after he walked out of his home in Valencia, a city of east of Caracas. It was unknown if he was affiliated with the demonstration.
The swell of protests is the most violent in economically struggling Venezuela since two months of anti-government demonstrations in 2014 that resulted in dozens of deaths. Maduro has called for renewed dialogue, but opposition leaders have discarded that as an option after earlier talks collapsed in December. Amid the unrest, international pressure on Venezuela to schedule delayed regional elections and free political activists has been steadily mounting at the OAS.