Caracas.-At least two people died, 46 were arrested and dozens were injured during protests in Venezuela on Monday against the fraud perpetrated by Nicolás Maduro.
The first victim was registered at the Maracay Clinical Hospital (HCM), in the state of Aragua. According to the hospital, the 30-year-old man died during a demonstration.
According to the Efecto Cocuyo website, the victim is Rancés Yzarra, a student who was hit by a bullet “when he was protesting in the vicinity of the Redoma de San Jacinto, in Maracay, Aragua state.” According to the media outlet, Yzarra arrived at the medical center without vital signs.
The HCM also released a list with the names of 18 other people who were affected during the protests and asked citizens to collaborate with resources to assist the victims.
Later, the spokesman for the NGO Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, confirmed the death of a second person in the state of Yaracuy, in the west of the country.
“At least one person killed in [el estado] Yaracuy and 46 people arrested for post-election events,” Romero wrote on the social network X.
The victims of Chavista repression arrive after the regime’s leader declared himself president for a third time following elections widely condemned internationally.
A few days before the elections, Maduro had threatened a “bloodbath” if he did not win the elections: “On July 28, if we do not want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war produced by the fascists, let us guarantee the greatest success, the greatest victory in the electoral history of our people.”
Chavista security forces on Monday cracked down on spontaneous protests in Venezuela, as international calls for greater transparency in the vote count grow.
The protests, which were recorded throughout the country, began on Monday morning, including in populous areas such as Petare, the largest and most dangerous neighborhood in the country.
“And it will fall, and it will fall, this government will fall!” shouted thousands of protesters who marched in the huge working-class neighborhood of Petare, the largest in Caracas. “Hand over power now!” exclaimed others.
The demonstrations were reported in several sectors of the capital. One of them, in a residential and office sector in the eastern municipality of Chacao, in the east of the city, was dispersed with tear gas.
“For the freedom of our country, for the future of our children, we want freedom, we want Maduro to go, Maduro go!” Marina Sugey, a 42-year-old housewife, told AFP at the Petare protest.
At least four statues of Hugo Chavez were also torn down in states that were bastions of the ruling party during these protests.
In videos circulating on social media, citizens who dismantled the structures can be seen celebrating, dissatisfied with the regime that has been in power for 25 years and is now trying to hold on for at least six more years.
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2024-07-31 12:44:57
