Scuffles broke out in front of the national legislature building in Caracas this afternoon as National Guard soldiers prevented journalists from entering the building to cover today’s legislative session. National Assembly deputy Juan Requesens said that the National Guard officer in charge for security at the legislature, Colonel Lugo, would only grant entry to the building to journalists cleared by the Maduro regime.
While the journalists were eventually able to make it through the National Guard barricade, deputy Requesens called the soldiers’ behaviour “savage and repressive”.
The video below shows the moment when a small number of National Guard deputies attempted to lead the journalists through the National Guard barricade. Note how at around the 1:00 mark, a soldier destroys a journalists’ camera:
The video below captured some of the chaos. It shows a line of National Guard soldiers preventing the journalists from getting close to the National Assembly building:
The videos below captured the scuffle from a different angle:
Since losing the National Assembly to the opposition in 2015, the Maduro regime has worked tirelessly to incapacitate the legislative branch. Those efforts climaxed in July 30 of last year, when Maduro imposed the Constituent Assembly upon the country, effectively replacing the National Assembly with a legislature that is fully under the control of the ruling PSUV party.
Maduro Moves Against Kellog As Company Abruptly Leaves Venezuela
This morning, Kellog announced that is was shutting down all of its activities in Venezuela effective immediately. leaving approximately 400 employees jobless.
The company’s workers became aware of the measure in a message sent from the company leadership this morning. In the message, Kellog said that it was “forced to cease operations in the country” as of today, presumably due to the dire economic situation in the country and the Maduro regime’s unwillingness to provide respite.
In the same message, the company said that it had paid all outstanding wages and benefits to all of its workers, and that the money had already been deposited in their bank accounts.
Some of the workers reacted by staging a protest outside of the company’s headquarters in Maracay, Aragua state:
The Maduro regime reacted to the news by announcing that it was taking “judicial action” against the company for shutting down operations, a move that Maduro was said was “unconstitutional”. At the same time, Maduro said that he had taken the decision to “hand the company over to the workers”, which presumably means that its assets will be nationalized.
According to FEDECAMARAS, the country’s largest business trade union, at least 1,000 companies have been forced to end operations in Venezuela during the past 20 years due to government policies like currency exchange controls and the worsening economic situation.
PSUV Gives Away Free Mangoes at Maduro Rally
Shortly before a campaign rally this afternoon in Charavalle, Miranda state, the Maduro campaign gave out free mangoes to supporters.
Below, a video of the giveaway:
The ongoing food crisis in Venezuela has plunged millions of Venezuelans into hunger, making something as meager as a single mango a rare and welcomed commodity.
Chaos in Maracaibo Hospital as Police Terrorize Striking Staff
Chaos engulfed the Dr. Adolfo Pons hospital in Maracaibo, Zulia state yesterday after state police officers entered the facility and dragged away several of the hospital’s staff who were striking. El Nacional reports that “several” doctors were arrested.
In the video below, police officers drag an individual out of the hospital while the indignant crowd watches in horror:
The video below captured the same event from another angle, and includes footage taken outside of the hospital. In the aftermath, two doctors–one of them elderly–reel in shock on the ground as the police leave the building:
The hospital staff were protesting to demand medical equipment and medicine for the facility.
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