As I type this (8:58 PM EST), the talks between the government and the opposition are just starting. They will likely last well into the night. I will have coverage on them tomorrow.
News from Elsewhere
There were some demonstrations around Petare (the biggest barrio in Caracas) and Caricuao last night and this morning. Some barricades were still up as late as this morning. Here are some pictures:
There was a demonstration in Petare on Tuesday of this week, which was allegedly broken up by at least 20 members of a colectivo armado who “arrived shooting into the air and hit some of the demonstrators with sticks”.
The article linked above points out that while the protests in the barrios have not been as visible as the ones in other areas of Caracas, citizens in the “popular zones” and barrios are still trying to organize themselves. The article quotes a man named Carlos Julio Rojas as saying that the organization he belongs to has about 400 people. Carlos says, “We communicate through social media and since the start of the protests we have carried out 12 big assemblies and 30 smaller ones.”
The article also has this account of how a barricade was set up in Petare:
After two months without water, Carolina Gonzales talked to two of her neighbours in the La Parilla barrio in North Petare about the possibility of blocking the street [with a barricade]. She says that at 4:00 PM, three neighbours had agreed to the idea and they [went ahead] and demonstrated their discontent, but after seven hours the road was filled with dozens of [Petare residents]. ‘We had to pull back because a junta comunal [communal council] group came by and threatened to shoot us all. They asked the National Guard to throw tear gas at us, but they answered that they had orders to not mess with the people in the barrios’, she said. The woman assures that there is discontent in the barrios of Petare, but that at the same time there is a lot of fear to speak up.
The Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social recorded 4,116 protests last month. The same group also pointed out that the following events have been reported during the protests:
1. Joined attacks by the National Guard, National Police and paramilitary groups.
2. Systemic use of toxic substances and firearms.
3. Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of demonstrators.
4. Arbitrary detentions.
5. Illegal breaking and enterings.
6. Criminalization of protests.
7. Persecution of opposition political leaders.
This morning, a bus and a truck were torched in La Isabelica, Valencia sometime this morning near the a National Guard regional base:
In Valencia, a march took place this afternoon:
A demonstration on the Prados del Este highway in Caracas, from around noon:
And from the same highway, later on in the day:
There were disturbances in Barquisimeto as well:
A demonstration in Plaza Miranda, at around 7:00 PM:
An almost light hearted picture taken in Tachira today. Pictures is the “Guerra a Muerte” [Fight to the Death] flag Simon Bolivar used for a brief period of time during the war of independence:
And finally, according to government figures, 212,104 people have signed up for the Secure Supply Card which the government introduced back on April 1.
In Venezuela 