Keystone-SDA
“We are not afraid!” It was with these words repeated by the crowd that the leader of the Venezuelan opposition Maria Corina Machado came out of hiding to participate in the anti-Maduro demonstration in Caracas, on the eve of the president’s inauguration.
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January 9, 2025 – 8:08 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) “Yo juro con Maduro” (I take the oath with Maduro) shout thousands of supporters of power who gather before a march in support of the president, who must take the oath for a third term in the National Assembly on Friday at noon ( 5:00 p.m. Swiss).
The authorities have massively deployed law enforcement in the country, particularly in the capital Caracas, swearing that the inauguration will take place “in peace” and “normality”.
Dressed in white and waving a Venezuelan flag, Ms. Machado, who lives in hiding and had not appeared in public since August 28, arrived aboard a truck, to cheers, in the upscale commercial district of Chacao.
“All of Venezuela is in the streets, We are not afraid! », Launched the opponent accused of being a “criminal” by Maduro himself and who had sworn not to want to “miss this historic day for anything”.
The several thousand supporters present, who had chanted this slogan during the morning while awaiting his arrival, immediately took up the chorus.
“I will leave my skin on the asphalt for my children, but it will be worth it because Venezuela will be free!” Long live free Venezuela! », Says Rafael Castillo, 70, who hopes to dislodge Maduro in power since 2013.
“At liberty”
“We will all see each other very soon in Caracas, in freedom,” launched from Santo Domingo the one whom opponents consider to be the “elected president”, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. “We, Venezuelans, are determined to persevere in this struggle until the end,” he added.
“The only elected president in this country is Nicolas Maduro, the people elected him and the people support him,” said Noeli Bolivar, 28, in the middle of Maduro supporters who brandished hundreds of Venezuelan flags during of this march “for peace”.
The opposition claims the victory of its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in the presidential election. She assures that the minutes of the polling stations that she collected prove that the former diplomat won the vote hands down – more than 67% of the votes – facing “a regime which knows it is beaten” and completely isolated. on the international level.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed the outgoing president the winner of the vote with 52% of the votes, but without publishing the minutes, claiming to be the victim of computer hacking. A hypothesis considered implausible by many observers.
The CNE’s announcement provoked spontaneous demonstrations throughout the country, which were harshly repressed. The post-election unrest resulted in 28 deaths, more than 200 injured, and 2,400 people arrested for “terrorism”.
Security forces have made numerous arrests in recent days: some 150 people, including an alleged official of the FBI (American federal police) and an American soldier, according to Mr. Maduro, who spoke of an “aggression” financed by the States. -United.
Washington, which does not recognize Mr. Maduro’s victory, described as “categorically false” any accusation of participation “in a plot to overthrow Maduro”, according to a spokesperson for the US State Department.
Arrests
Enrique Marquez, a Venezuelan opposition figure and spearhead of the legal battle against Mr Maduro’s contested re-election, and Mr Gonzalez Urrutia’s son-in-law are among those arrested, accused of being involved in the attempted coup , according to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
The respected Carlos Correa, director of a well-known human rights NGO, was also arrested.
The UN said it was “deeply concerned” on Thursday about the detention of political opponents and in particular that of Mr. Correa, wrote Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Exiled in Spain since September, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia is concluding his tour in the Dominican Republic which notably took him to the White House.
He had planned to go to Caracas on Friday to take the oath of office in place of Mr. Maduro, a project deemed “unlikely” by observers.
The Venezuelan authorities, who put a price of 100,000 dollars on the head of Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, promised prison to all those who accompanied him, affirming that they would react as if facing an “invading force”.
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