“Regime agents surrounded my mother’s house”
“My son-in-law Rafael Tudares was kidnapped this morning (…) hooded men dressed in black put him in a gold-colored van (…) and took him away. He is now missing,” wrote Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on . At the same time, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado denounced harassment of her mother: “Regime agents surrounded my mother’s house,” she posted on X.
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75-year-old former ambassador, who claims to have defeated Nicolas Maduro at the polls, completed a visit to the United States on Tuesday where he notably met President Joe Biden. In Spain since September, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has been on a tour which has taken him to Argentina, Uruguay and the United States, in search of support before the inauguration on Friday of Nicolas Maduro for a third consecutive term. On Wednesday in Panama he will meet 11 former Latin American leaders, as well as several foreign ministers.
“If they set foot in Venezuela, they will be arrested”
Nicolas Maduro was proclaimed winner of the July election with 52% of the votes by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which however did not make public the minutes of the polling stations, saying it had been the victim of computer hacking. This is considered not very credible by many observers.
The opposition published the minutes provided by its scrutineers and ensures that its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia obtained more than 67% of the votes. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia launched an appeal to the army on Sunday asking them to rally behind him. The high command rejected it, calling it a “clownish act”.
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia announced several days ago that he would travel to Caracas for his own inauguration. A trip with former Latin American heads of state from a neighboring country was discussed. “I’m waiting for them at the airport,” quipped Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. “If they set foot in Venezuela, they will be arrested and brought to justice.”
In July, Venezuelan authorities had already prevented a plane carrying a delegation of former presidents wanting to observe the vote from landing in Caracas.
Nicolas Maduro calls on all armed forces
Tuesday evening, President Maduro proceeded “to activate the ODIs (Comprehensive Defense Organs) for the first time in order to defend peace, stability and the Venezuelan family.” The ODIs bring together “all the political power of Venezuela, the popular power, the national armed forces, the militia and all the police forces,” Nicolas Maduro himself specified, stressing that this concerns “all states, municipalities, parishes and communities”.
Previously, he had announced “the capture of seven foreign mercenaries, including two Americans” wanting to “carry out terrorist actions”. 125 other people had already been arrested on Monday. The government regularly denounces conspiracies, frequently accusing the United States or the opposition.
Thousands of soldiers, militiamen and police officers – often hooded – have been deployed since Sunday in Caracas, noted an AFP journalist. The opposition, which has not called for large gatherings for weeks, launched a mobilization slogan on Thursday without specifying a date or time for the demonstration. Objective: to derail Maduro’s inauguration ceremony planned at the National Assembly on Friday at noon.
During a video press conference, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said that “the days” of Nicolas Maduro in power “were numbered. Tyranny will fall.
