Tag Archives: Nicolas Maduro

The Audacity: Maduro calls for the invasion of Puerto Rico

Nicolas Maduro

Important Takeaways:

  • Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has called for a campaign for the “liberation” of Puerto Rico from the United States.
  • The U.S. and other governments recognized Maduro’s opponent Edmundo González as the victor of last July’s election.
  • On Friday, the U.S. announced a $25 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction, highlighting a renewed effort to destabilize Maduro’s presidency and bolster the opposition’s bid to restore democracy.
  • Maduro invoked Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan solider who liberated much of South America from Spanish rule, as he spoke about Puerto Rico.
  • “Just as in the north they have a colonization agenda, we have a liberation agenda,” Maduro said during the closing of the International Anti-Fascist Festival in Caracas on Saturday. “And our agenda was written by Simón Bolívar. The freedom of Puerto Rico is pending, and we will achieve it with Brazilian troops…leading the way.”
  • Puerto Rico has been under U.S. control since the 1898 Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, but they cannot vote in general elections and have no voting representation in Congress because of the island’s political status.
  • A majority of voters, 57 percent, opted for Puerto Rico to become a U.S. state in a nonbinding referendum in November, while just 12 percent voted for independence. The vote was the first referendum that did not provide an option for maintaining the island’s current status as a U.S. territory. But Puerto Rico’s status can change only with approval from Congress.
  • Maduro began his third term more isolated on the world stage than ever, with the U.S. announcing bounties for him and several high-ranking officials.
  • González said he plans to return to Venezuela to take up the mantle of president, although it is not clear if and when he would do so. The Venezuelan government has said González will be arrested if he returns.
  • The U.S. and its allies have indicated they are willing to increase sanctions on Venezuela if there is further evidence of repression.

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U.N. urges Venezuela’s Maduro to uphold rule of law

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a gathering in support of him and his proposal for the National Constituent Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela June 27, 2017. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations on Friday criticized President Nicolas Maduro’s government for curtailing the powers of the chief state prosecutor and called on it to uphold the rule of law and freedom of assembly in Venezuela amid a clampdown on protesters.

Critics of Maduro have taken to the streets almost daily for three months to protest against what they call the creation of a dictatorship. The protests, which have left nearly 80 dead, frequently culminate in violent clashes with security forces.

Ruling Socialist Party officials have launched a series of attacks against chief state prosecutor Luisa Ortega, from accusations of insanity to promoting violence, after her high-profile break with the government.

“The decision by the Venezuelan Supreme Court on 28 June to begin removal proceedings against the Attorney General, freeze her assets and ban her from leaving the country is deeply worrying, as is the ongoing violence in the country,” U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva briefing.

The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber has nullified Ortega’s appointment of a deputy attorney general, naming someone else in violation of the law, he said. It also transferred some of her functions to the ombudsperson.

“Since March, the Attorney General has taken important steps to defend human rights, documenting deaths during the wave of demonstrations, insisting on the need for due process and the importance of the separation of powers, and calling for people who have been arbitrarily detained to be immediately released,” Colville said.

The U.N. human rights office was concerned the Supreme Court’s decision “appears to seek to strip her office of its mandate and responsibilities as enshrined in the Venezuelan Constitution, and undermine the office’s independence”.

“We urge all powers of the Venezuelan state to respect the constitution and the rule of law, and call on the government to ensure the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of opinion and expression are guaranteed,” Colville said.

Maduro says the demonstrations are an attempt to overthrow him with the support of Washington.

The United Nations has received increasing reports that security forces have “raided residential buildings, conducted searches without warrants and detained people, allegedly with the intention of deterring people from participating in the demonstrations and searching for opposition supporters,” Colville said.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Janet Lawrence)