The demonstrations today were pretty big. Certainly the biggest in a few weeks. This is a picture of the demonstration in Caracas:
A man was killed today in demonstrations in Merida. According to witnesses, Jesus Orlando Labrador was killed by a colectivo armado that was operating alongside some National Guard troops and Polimerida [Merida state police] officers.
Lillian Torini – Leopoldo Lopez’s wife – read a letter to a crowd in Caracas from her husband today. The letter reads:
Maduro, no one doubts that you have become a dictator of Venezuela. The crisis this country is facing is not the fault of the people or of those who support you, or oppose you. The fault, Nicolas, is yours and of the corrupt government you lead (…) I invited you to, from the solitude of power, think about how you would save Venezuela if you were to resign (…) If you resign, all Venezuelans could advance towards democracy and liberty. If you resign, we can bury impunity and find a way towards justice and peace that we so sorely need. If you resign, we can build a strong economy with Made in Venezuela products to help overcome the disparity between Venezuelans. If you resign, we can have a sovereign country, free of external influence and from the meddling and [submission to] the Cuban regime. If you resign, we can rescue the National Armed Forces and see ourself, with dignity, [in each of them] (…)
From prison, I ask God to enlighten you, so that you may find the strength to resign. If you, Maduro, do not cede the right of way, you will have millions of Venezuelans on the street fighting for liberty. The first solution is in your hands. You must understand that you do not own Venezuela. We are the heirs of Bolivar and the liberators, of those who fought against the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez, and above all we are responsible to our offspring and their future.
How many more dead? How much more repression? (…) We are not afraid of you, or of your government. The people will continue to be on the streets because they have lost so much already that they’ve even lost their fear. For Venezuela, and for our offspring. Strength and faith!
Bassil da Costa’s mother also spoke at the demonstration in Caracas. Bassil was the first person killed during these protests. She said, “My son is everyone’s son. He is everyone’s brother”:
Maria Corina Machado was briefly detained earlier this afternoon by security forces at the Simon Bolivar International Airport. She came back today from her trip to the meeting of the Organization of American States. She hasn’t yet commented on the event, but apparently her passport was taken away from her and she was taken to a room by some security forces. This is a picture taken shortly after her release to a crowd in the airport:
During the government rally in Caracas, Maduro gave a speech in which he said:
We follow the orders of the Fiscalia and of the courts. Make no mistake. If the Fiscalia or the courts order the government to imprison Ramon Muchacho [Mayor of Chacao] for contempt of the constitution, Ramon Muchacho will be imprisoned. Make no mistake.
(…)
Let’s see how strong Muchacho is, then. Because yesterday he was threatening me and the country during a press conference. Yesterday, Ramon Muchacho went out and started threatening me. He told me: ‘Let the president do what he wants, let him throw me in jail and we’ll see what happens.’ [He was] so upset. Right? I follow the orders of the Poder Judicial [the judiciary], of the Poder Ciudadano. Mr. Muchacho, if you ignore the orders given to you by the Supreme Court and I am ordered to go find you, you can be sure that I will do just that ipso facto. I would do it at once, just so you know.
Given Maduro’s tone over the last few days, it is almost a certainty that the mayor of Chacao, Ramon Muchacho, will be arrested and imprisoned relatively soon.
In a more conspiratorial mood, Maduro also said:
Today, they [the demonstrators] tried to blow up fifteen tunnels throughout the country. They tried to burn and demolish bridges, viaducts, highways (…) How can we put up with this? Is this a just [protest] movement? (…) It’s one thing to protest for a just cause, like social or economic issues, and in Venezuela everyone who wants to protest should protest. It’s another thing to look for violence and death.
Maduro offered no evidence to show how – what would arguably be the largest, most destructive, and most meticulously planned and executed terrorist attack in the history of the country and possibly the world – was foiled by the government.
Here is a picture gallery with photos of today’s demonstration from different areas of the country’s interior.
And here are some pictures from the rest of the country:
This one’s another shot of the mass of demonstrators in Caracas:
This one is from Maturin, Monagas state:
Barquisimeto:
This one is from Merida. The caption to go along with it was “Smile! You’re being filmed from la ballena [slang for a kind of National Guard truck]”:
This one, from around 10:30 AM, shows the opposition demonstration in Chacaito. The sign the lady is showing the camera reads, “Only a united people will rescue Bolivar’s homeland”:
This one is from Puerto Ordaz, from around 10:40 AM:
I’m not sure when/where this picture was taken, but the sign reads, “I live in a country where us students are terrorists and the [thugs, punks] are heroes of the homeland”:
Things in Altamira got a bit messy at around 3:00 PM after some barricades were set up. The National Guard would have none of it:
This one didn’t have a time/location associated with it, but it’s interesting nonetheless:
Yesterday, I posted a video showing a student in Maracay – Jaime Yespica – being savagely beaten by security forces and pro-government demonstrators. Here is a video testimony of Jaime in which he explains the injuries he sustained, along with my translation:
Good evening. My name is Jaime Yespica. I am an engineering student at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas. Yesterday, March 19 2014, I was unfortunately savagely and brutally assaulted [by] some police and colectivos who were repressing the peaceful opposition demonstration in San Jacinto against the [I can’t understand this – it sounds like he’s saying feria]. These colectivos and members of the National Police assaulted me savagely. As you can see, I have serious head injuries. Many of you may have seen the video of my beating on YouTube and many other websites.
I have a fractured frontal sinus. I have a fractured nasal bridge and [a broken] nose. Damage to the [inaudible – he points to the area around his nose beneath his eyes]. I also have serious bruising from being punched on my arms, as you can see, and on my abdomen. All of this is the result of repeated punches and kicks from police officers and colectivos. I will also need to undergo surgery in the future to repair the skull fracture [which I suffered through the assault].
The troubling trend Maduro and the government has set for themselves continued today. There is virtually no acknowledgement of the issues that the protesters are bringing up – scarcity, insecurity, inflation, and now most predominantly, abuses against democratic rights. What’s worse, the government continues to dismiss all of the protesters as Nazis and terrorists. It’s as if the government is living in another world. Until the government acknowledges the existence of the protesters as a legitimate expression of popular unrest, the situation in Venezuela will not only fail to improve, it will quite likely get much worse.
In Venezuela 