Maria Corina Machado, the head of the Vente Venezuela (VV) opposition party, spoke today in a press conference about the attack that she suffered in Upata, Bolivar state while she was touring the town.
During the press conference, Machado said that yesterday’s attack is evidence that Maduro heads “a mafia state”, and that the president was personally responsible for the violence. According to Machado, the attack had a clear goal:
… to stop Venezuelans who fight against barbarity from making themselves heard [and from] accompanying citizens who are suffering from barbarity and the cruelty [perpetrated by] this fraudulent state.
Machado also said that she was followed all the way to Upata from Caracas by the SEBIN, the regime’s political police. Machado said that the SEBIN officers disappeared as soon as they reached the town after sending her threatening messages. Machado said:
They had sent us messages [saying that] they would not let us get near Upata.
Machado said that she believes that anywhere between eight and twelve SEBIN officers were tasked with following her trip to the town.
Machado is pushing forward with her tour of the country’s southeast region today despite yesterday’s attack. She was in Ciudad Guayana tonight at a political rally, pictured below:
After Upata, this is the response of the [residents of Ciudad Guayana] in La Churuata!
We have THE STRENGTH and nothing will stop us!
BRAVO, BOLIVAR!
EU Urges Push Against Maduro Regime at ICC
The European Parliament passes a resolution today calling on all of the bloc’s member nations to back a state-sponsored request before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the Maduro regime for crimes against humanity.
The request was filed jointed by Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Argentina at the end of September, and marks the first time that nations have referred one another to the ICC.
The resolution at the European Parliament passed with 218 votes in favour, 25 against and 26 abstentions. The document calls on all EU member states to
… join the initiative by ICC member states to investigate the crimes against humanity (…) and make those responsible pay.
The state-sponsored ICC resulted in the launch of a preliminary investigation into crimes against humanity under the Maduro regime. Earlier this year, the ICC also launched a preliminary examination into the same question.
The Maduro regime reacted to the news from the European Parliament by calling the body’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker, a tool of the United States’ “strategy of aggression” against Venezuela.
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