Members of the Bolivarian National Police forcibly entered the headquarters of the National Federation of Unions and Colleges of Education Workers in Venezuela, Fenatev, in the city of Barinas – regarding eight hours south of Caracas -, and seized They forcibly imprisoned union leader Víctor Venegas, under accusations of terrorism.
A video has gone viral on social media showing a very upset Venegas, listening to the police call at Fenatev’s headquarters: “We have done absolutely nothing wrong. What we have done is defend the workers. I’m not going to hide. But it should be known that the police forces are knocking down the doors of the union to take me prisoner.” The fence and the door of the offices were forced by a large deployment of troops.
The attorney general of the Chavista regime, Tarek William Saab, issued a public statement in which he assumes, on behalf of the State, the measure once morest Venegas. “This citizen is involved in the development of activities once morest the peace of the republic, and was part of a group that sought to turn the state of Barinas into the epicenter of violent actions.”
At the time he was arrested, Venegas was working on organizing protests by the teachers’ union demanding better salaries and working conditions, following Teacher’s Day had been celebrated in the country on January 15. Other groups of union activists had already organized similar, completely peaceful, concentrations in other parts of the country. In his annual message to Congress last week, Nicolás Maduro greeted educators on his day and told them that they had his support and understanding.
After the economic collapse of the 2014-2020 period, during the Presidency of Nicolás Maduro, the conditions of public education in the country – one of the banners of Chavista propaganda when invoking “social investment” – have deteriorated dramatically. The number of teachers who decided to emigrate increased scandalously, school care programs were weakened, salaries were dissolved, and student absenteeism increased in impoverished areas. An educator in Venezuela earns an average of $30 a month in salary plus some additional bonuses. Last year, amid social unrest that has heated up over time, unions of teachers and health workers organized several well-attended street protests over the precarious working and salary conditions they face.
In mid-2023, several union and student leaders who were doing political and agitation work in these spaces were arrested by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, Sebin, and sentenced to 16 years in prison for terrorism and criminal association. They were released a few days ago within the framework of agreements with the Venezuelan opposition and the United States. The judicialization of Venegas closes the famous circle of the “revolving door”: within the framework of the negotiations, some prisoners leave and others enter.
On his television program With the Gavel Giving, broadcast on Wednesdays by the state-owned Venezolana de Televisión, Diosdado Cabello, first vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, second in command in the revolution, also assumed political responsibility for this measure, pointing out that the neutralized plan was part of a plot much broader conspiracy, which included the murder of senior Chavista leaders. It was not clear whether Venegas is accused of such a thing.
It would be a process of agitation that, according to Cabello’s words, involves several groups of other people (“who have already confessed”), including the military. The leader said that more details will be known soon. The plan was to foment disorders from Colombia, entering through the Andean areas. Expressing himself in terms that are characteristic of him, Cabello issued this warning: “Let the gentlemen of the opposition know, be very careful with what you do. We are attentive to everything and we are not going to let ourselves be knocked down. “If you insist on unleashing Bolivarian fury, you will encounter Bolivarian fury.”
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