Today, a meeting was held between mayors and governors from around the country and Maduro. David Smolansky, the mayor of El Hatillo, at one point took to the microphone, and used his opportunity to speak to ask Maduro to release the political prisoners currently in Venezuelan jails, namely Enzo Scarano, Daniel Ceballos, and Leopoldo Lopez, among others.
At the question, Maduro at once became agitated, and yelled back:
I’m very sorry that this isn’t the theme of this meeting, and that you’re trying to take advantage of this opportunity that is given to you for political gain (…) Those who are in jail are in jail because they broke the law and because they tried to overthrow the legitimate government which I preside over. We need to learn to respect the themes we’re debating, if not, we’re wasting our time.
Maduro continued, and said that he had evidence that the people in jail were responsible for:
… all the destruction, all the people who’ve been burned alive, the police killed by snipers, the destruction against 100 buses (…) What do you want? That I give them medals, awards, that I make them ministers? No! They have to go to jail and pay. There must be justice (…) The party for which you fight, in spite of the fact that it has risen up against the constitutional president, I’m letting you speak because I recognize you as a mayor. I demand that you recognize me as head of state. You don’t recognize me? Then, leave this meeting! Leave this meetings!”
It’s worth remembering that while Maduro and the PSUV are holding Ceballos, Scarano and Lopez responsible for the deaths that have occurred in Venezuela since these protests began, no concrete evidence has so far been produced to back up the claim.
In Other News
The meeting between the opposition and members of UNASUR appears to have been productive. According to the representative from Ecuador, “we have opened bridges for communication in Venezuela again”. While details on the exact nature of the meeting held today are scarce, it appears as if UNASUR is convinced that the opposition and the Venezuelan government are well on their way to meeting face-to-face once again.
On the opposition’s decision to walk way from the dialogue table, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Elias Jaua, said:
Whoever leaves that table does so because they want war in Venezuela.
The opposition left the talks two weeks ago, after they pointed out that the government had not followed through on any of the promises it had made so far, and that several PSUV public figures – including Maduro – often took to the airwaves to demonize and slander the opposition.
A 17 year old was arrested today in connection with the murder of Eliezer Otaiza. The boy is now the third person arrested in connection with the murder, and joins Antony Rafael Arrieta (20) and Gregory Javier Torres Castillo (20) in detention. Otaiza was murdered some time around April 26. A prominent PSUV figure, Otaiza’s murder grabbed the spotlight once Maduro started to make not-so-subtle suggestion that his murder was politically motivated, and that it had been carried out by the opposition.
In Venezuela 