June 1: Unbreakable Desire

A group of 12 university students in Caracas began a hunger strike today in the Alfredo Sadel Plaza in Las Mercedes, and are asking for the release of all political prisoners. Eusebio Acosta, a student leader, said:

We have to be brave during these hard times. In spite of the persecution and the repression, we will not leave the streets. There is an unbreakable desire to fight for liberty and democracy.

The students began their hunger strike at the conclusion of a march that set out from Macaracuay to the Alfredo Sadel Plaza today. During the course of the march, National Guard troops arrested six students, while two others managed to escape. The arrests took place near Chuao, when a group of students “approached a barricade” the National Guard was manning.

Below are some pictures of the demonstration:

National Guard troops near the Cuban Embassy in Caracas along the march route:

Aside from the march from Macaracuay, a group of approximately 20 encapuchados [literally, “hooded men”] have shut down the Prados del Este highway in Caracas near Santa Fe “with trees and burning garbage”. According to Twitter reports, the event was still ongoing as of 4:16 Caracas time.

In Other News

Leopoldo Lopez is scheduled to appear before a judge tomorrow, and it is expected that his fate will be decided then. One of Lopez’s lawyers, Roberto Marrero, said that it would be “logical” for Lopez to be released tomorrow, since he has been incarcerated for four months on dubious charges stemming from the events of February 12. The audience is scheduled for 10:00 AM.

Juan Carlos Gutierrez, another member of Lopez’s legal defence team, said:

We expect that this Monday the charges presented by the attorney general will not be accepted due to the absence of any crimes in the conduct of Lepoldo Lopez. (…) He [Lopez] has only exercised his right to express his ideas as a political leader, which includes formulating critiques, recommendations, calls to protest, ask for political change in the country, [and that] the Constitution be obeyed.

Venebarometro, a Venezuelan polling firm, released the findings of its latest survey, and they show that only 33% of Venezuelans believe that the actions of the government against demonstrators of the last four months respected human rights. Other findings from the survey include:

• 53% who believe that the National Guard have attacked unarmed protesters.
• 53% believe that the colectivos armados should not go out onto the streets to defend the Maduro government.

Finally, Jose Vicente Rangel – former Minister of Defence and avid PSUV supporter – blamed an unnamed owner of a mall somewhere in Venezuela for financing the recent unrest, and said that Central American mercenaries have been recruited by the opposition to fight in the next stage of the coup. Rangel said:

In the actions that are anticipated for June in relation to the ongoing coup d’etat, it is expected that Central American mercenaries from El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico – who were recruited and are entering the country to carry out acts of sabotage – will participate. A connection has been established between barrios with high rates of crime and organized gangs who are paid on a weekly basis to act in conjunction [with the mercenaries].
(…)
An important businessman who owns malls is one of the financiers of this plan to destabilize [the country]. His activities are not limited only to financing the diverse operations that are expected for the second phase of the plan, but he also acts as a coordinator from Panama, where he is now.

Rangel did not offer any evidence for his claims. Central American mercenaries and millionaire mall owners now officially join the crowded list of enemies of the Venezuelan state, which includes Nazis/Neo-Nazis, Middle Eastern terrorist mercenaries, Colombia, Panama, Chile. Alvaro Uribe, CNN, and the United States.