Maduro Warns Venezuela Opposition as Caracas Protests Return
Maduro Warns Venezuela Opposition as Caracas Protests Return
The Venezuelan government is “wiping out the ability of the international media to cover the marches [while it] atomizes the opposition,” comments AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told opposition governors to take part in talks he called for next week or face “consequences” as Caracas residents hold dueling rallies today.
Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles, who in April lost the presidential election by the thinnest margin in 45 years, today said he would join the talks. Maduro, in a news conference from the presidential palace yesterday, said opposition groups were trying to overthrow his government, backed by the political “right” in Latin America, foreign media and the U.S.
“There is a campaign to demonize, to isolate, the Bolivarian revolution,” said Maduro, sitting in front of a portrait of late President Hugo Chavez. “It’s an international campaign that is trying to divide Latin America....”
‘The Streets’
“The government is acting outside of the constitution and we came here today to demand that the repression and torture stop,” Capriles said in images transmitted by the Globovision network. “As long as this government fails to listen and offer solutions, the people will stay in the streets.”
Maduro last night spoke hours after the government revoked the accreditation for seven CNN journalists. Maduro accused the network of misreporting the political crisis, a week after he took Colombian television channel NTN24 off the air following its coverage of the demonstrations.
“They’re wiping out the ability of the international media to cover the marches and the government’s heavy-handed tactics,” Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy at the Council of Americas, said by phone. “This is a very dispersed protest movement and this was a way for them to inform themselves of events. The government is trying to atomize the opposition....”
