The Ministry of Popular Power for Defense has published a statement in which it reports that 33 active military personnel - including a division general, two colonels, six lieutenant colonels and several captains - were subjected to a public act of degradation and expulsion by to be allegedly involved in conspiratorial, “criminal and terrorist” activities, carried out against “the legitimately constituted authorities”, that is, against the Government of Nicolás Maduro.
The event would have taken place in the Patio of Honor of the Military Academy, in front of the Minister of Defense and General in Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, Vladimir Padrino López, and the members of the Military High Command.
This information appears very shortly after the Chavista Government announced that it had revealed a conspiracy to assassinate Maduro, extending a repressive escalation that landed a teacher leader in prison, and announced the arrest of 32 more civil activists, including the defender. of human rights, Tamara Suju, and the journalist specialized in military sources, Sebastiana Barráez, like most of them, already in exile.
Suju, who has dedicated himself from abroad to substantiating before international organizations all the excesses of Chavismo in matters of human rights, wrote on his X account, formerly Twitter, that in the act of military repudiation, the prisoners “arrived handcuffed in a single chain, hands, feet and waist, except for Captain Heredia, who arrived in a wheelchair and who was in very poor condition and clearly could not walk.
“They stripped everyone naked in the yard (women and men) and made them put on a uniform.”
In the heat of the events, Maduro spoke again about the existence of a plan to assassinate him, and added: “Today the Barbados agreements are mortally wounded, I declare them in intensive care.
Hopefully we can save those agreements, without plans to murder me.”
Also the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, - one of the leaders of the PSUV and head of the Chavismo delegation in the political negotiations with the opposition - has subsequently issued some harsh statements in one of his parliamentary speeches, aimed to bombard the atmosphere of consensus, attack the opposition and galvanize the slogan of “Bolivarian fury”, a common slogan of maximum alert among Chavistas, declared by Diosdado Cabello three days before.
In them, Rodríguez also stated that the Barbados agreements “were hanging” (on hold), lambasting the Venezuelan opposition for its alleged conspiratorial activities.
“I'm tired of hearing about free and fair elections,” said Rodríguez.
“Free elections for whom?” he asks.
“Choices for them, for the cursed castes of surnames.
“They ask for electoral conditions and President Maduro cannot go out on the streets to prevent an attack.”
Nicolás Maduro during an event to commemorate the 1958 coup against the government of Marcos Pérez, in Caracas, this Tuesday.Jesus Vargas (AP)
Then, he added that “there is no way that this lady”, referring to María Corina Machado, is a candidate for anything in 2024″;
and she concluded: “With or without opposition, with or without sanctions and with or without international observers, in Venezuela there will be presidential elections in 2024.”
While all this was happening, the vice president of the Republic, -and Jorge's sister-, Delcy Rodríguez, met at the Casa Amarilla, in the center of the city, with a diplomatic delegation from the European Union in order to discuss the possibility of the organization of an electoral mission in the country.
European diplomats issued a statement in which they expressed “their willingness to exchange with the authorities” regarding the feasibility of this mission.
Jorge Rodríguez had recently assured European diplomats, especially the head of diplomacy, Josep Borell, that Europe would not participate in any electoral mission in Venezuela as long as it depended on him.
Throughout the month of January, the Supreme Court of Justice has been delaying an appeal requested by Maria Corina Machado's lawyers to be informed about the causes of the disqualification against her and to invoke the violation of her political rights.
This procedure had been suggested within the framework of the Barbados agreements.
Except for a very general consideration regarding the existence of “inconsistencies in his sworn declaration of assets”, formulated by the Comptroller General of the Republic, there are no substantive arguments regarding the veto against Machado, neither files nor judicial rulings, nor public reflections made to justify the measure that prevents him from participating.
On January 23 - the day on which the fall of the last military dictatorship in the country and the advent of democracy in 1958 is commemorated in Venezuela - Chavismo woke up on high alert and denouncing a conspiracy.
Several offices of Maria Corina Machado's campaign headquarters were vandalized with threatening graffiti and two regional officials from her team were taken to prison.
The ruling party called a rally that happened very close to another organized by opposition activists that day, which gave rise to moments of tension.
Machado later published a video in which he denounced the Chavista attacks, and sent a message to his leaders: “Leave the fear, agree to measure yourself in elections.
Your time has passed, the people do not want you.”
Although the Maduro Government refuses to recognize it, and develops in its informative content with numerous reports on the progress of the economy and the social situation that defy reality, Maria Corina Machado is, by far, the most popular political leader in the country. , according to what all recognized surveys report, at a time when the acceptance rates for Maduro and Chavismo look particularly anemic.
However, as happened in 2018, Maduro very recently launched his electoral forecast at a public rally: “Even if it burns, even if it hurts, I will continue governing this country after 2024. We will win the presidential elections.
We are joy and we are the majority.”
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