Leopoldo Lopez’s preliminary hearing, which was scheduled to take place today, has been deferred. Lopez was transferred from the Ramo Verde military prison to the Palacio de Justicia (where the supreme court sits) this morning, but upon his arrival he learned of the deferral. No explanation was given for the decision, and no new date was scheduled for his hearing. Lopez, who has been in prison for two months and sixteen days, was subsequently transported back to Ramo Verde.
Last night, several camps set up by students around Caracas as a form of permanent protest were raided and removed by security forces. The raid began at around 3:30 AM, and a witness – a student by the name of Geraldine Molina – alleges that security forces “beat the students at will”. As a result of the raids, 243 youths were arrested and taken to National Guard Regional Command Center 5 (CORE 5), where they are expected to be held until their first appearances before a judge.
La Patilla has several pictures of the aftermath of the raids on one of the camps. Here are a few:
This morning, a group of students took to the streets near the La Florencia campus of the Universidad Santa Maria in Caracas. The students blocked at least one of the entrances to the university with desks, benches and chairs. Here are some pictures:
Below is a video compilation of confrontations that took place between demonstrators and the National Guard in Tachira. Of note are the number of professional-looking gas masks among the demonstrators. Also, at around 1:20, a demonstrator shows off a marble he claims was fired at them by the security forces:
The video below was taken at the Palacio de Justicia in Caracas. It shows demonstrators chaining themselves to the premises and chanting, “Libertad! Libertad!” [Freedom!], in solidarity with the people detained over the course of the protests:
Maria Corina Machado is speaking at an event at the University of Toronto today. I plan to attend, so look for a summary of her talk and pictures of the event in the coming days.
In Venezuela 