The attack on the Universidad Fermin Toro [Fermin Toro University] campus in Barquisimeto, Lara state last night burned out of control into the early hours this morning.
The attack started at approximately 6:30 PM, when a group of masked men entered the campus and set the offices on the ground floor of a university building ablaze. Several classrooms, along with a cafeteria, were also damaged by the fire. Here are two videos from the scene:
In the video below, the people filming the fire point out that gunfire is being heard occasionally. One of the people present suggests that the colectivos might be trying to stop firefighters from putting out the flames:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr7wdaDp_rE
And this video shows students attempting to put out the flames from inside the building. Towards the end of the video, one of the men present yells in desperation, “The firefighters are sitting down, dammit!”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c2eck32Xzw
According to witnesses, the attack was carried out by a colectivo armado, pro-government armed groups both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have identified as habitual perpetrators of this kind of violence. Witnesses also claim that the National Guard, a permanent fixture at demonstrations, was absent from the campus last night during the attack, and that the only security forces present – Lara State police – “did not intervene during the attacks by the colectivos”. This behavior is consistent with past actions brought to light in the reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on the situation in Venezuela.
This was the university building this morning. The graffiti on the wall reads “El Klan con Maduro” [The Klan is with Maduro]. I’m not entirely sure what the “Klan” is, but given that fact that it is a (probably intentional) misspelling of the word “clan”, I’m guessing that it is some kind of gang:
A much-awaited clarification on the legal status of Leopoldo Lopez might come this Thursday, when Lopez is scheduled to appear before a judge for a preliminary audience for his alleged involvement in the protests that have shaken Venezuela since February 12 of this year. Lopez’s defense team has been quick to point out what they consider to be an inherent unfairness in the proceedings against Lopez. A press release issued by the opposition notes :
The process against Lopez is too partisan to be fair. 95% of the pieces of evidence provided by the Attorney General’s office, which is simultaneously the victim and the prosecutor, come from State sources. 95% of the 66 witnesses called forward [work for] the State. “
Maria Corina Machado left this morning for Ottawa, where she is expected to speak before lawmakers regarding the human rights situation in the country. She is also expected to make a trip to Toronto in order to connect with the Venezuelan community there.
And in case you missed it, Human Rights Watch published a report yesterday on the situation in Venezuela, which it characterized has exhibiting “patterns of abuse”. Highlights of the report, along with a link to the report, are here.
In Venezuela 