The offices of Banesco in Caracas saw a heavy police presence today as the Maduro regime begins day one of its 90 day takeover of the country’s largest private bank. The takeover was announced yesterday following the arrest of 11 of the bank’s executives, whom the regime accuses of participating in financial activities that are harming the Venezuelan people.
The image below was taken at approximately 8:40 AM this morning outside of the Banesco headquarters in the city. It shows white vehicles belonging to the CICPC, Venezuela’s investigative police, parked outside of the bank’s offices. Note that one of the vehicles has the letters “BAE” printed on it, which identify it as belonging to the CICPC’s Brigada de Acciones Especiales [Special Actions Brigade], which is a SWAT-like unit:
The image below shows two heavily-armed officers guarding the entrance to the building. The officer on the left is holding what appears to be an AK-103 rifle, while the one on the right carries a Styer AUG variant:
Banesco’s president, Juan Carlos Escotet, published a video in his Twitter account reacting to the institution’s takeover, after announcing yesterday that he would travel to the country immediately to help oversee the bank’s response to the measure.
Escotet–who is a dual Venezuelan-Spanish citizen and resides outside of the country–called the takeover “unjust”, and said that it was “motivated by political reasons”. Escotet also said that the takeover “makes no sense” and that it is an attempt by the regime to “distract public opinion from the serious problems that we Venezuelans are facing”.
While the Maduro regime claim that their takeover of the institution will last only 90 days, it could decide to extend the takeover or make it permanent.
UN Will Investigate Trinidad and Tobago’s Expulsion of Venezuelan Asylum Seekers
The United Nations (UN) announced today that it would launch an investigation into the expulsion of 82 Venezuelan migrants from Trinidad and Tobago this past April 21. The investigation was confirmed by Trinidad and Tobago’s attorney general, Stuart Young, who said that a special UN investigation team would arrive on the island at some point in the future to conduct the inquiry.
The Associated Press reported at the time that at least 13 of the deported Venezuelans had already requested asylum from Trinidadian authorities, who allegedly responded by ignoring their claim and deporting them.
According to international law, an individual who requests asylum in a country triggers a set of legal mechanisms that could result in them being granted refugee status in that country.
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In Venezuela 
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