Red Fascist Crackdown: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has used the military, legislative and judicial power consolidated during 15 years of socialist rule in a sudden series of blows against opponents who have spent more than a month protesting in the streets, knocking down their barricades and throwing dissident leaders in jail. Thursday dawned with two more opposition politicians behind bars, one of them sentenced to more than 10 months in jail. And pro-government lawmakers had already started trying to put another outspoken critic behind bars as well, moving to strip an opposition congresswoman of her legislative immunity from prosecution. Maduro has been warning his rivals for weeks that they could soon meet the same fate as opposition hardliner Leopoldo Lopez, who was jailed on charges related to the Feb. 12 protests that initiated the wave of unrest, which has so far led to at least 28 deaths, most of them after Lopez was arrested. San Diego Mayor Enzo Scarano was removed from his post by the Supreme Court, arrested and on the same day sent to begin a 10 ½-month prison term for failing to heed a court order to have protesters barricades removed from the streets of his city. San Cristobal Mayor Daniel Ceballos was arrested as well on charges of rebellion and conspiracy. Maduro said in a speech last month that Ceballos would soon join Lopez behind bars for fomenting violence. Its a matter of time until we have him in the same cold cell, Maduro said. The federal government itself moved in this week to clear out the plaza at the heart of the demonstrations against inflation, shortages, crime and perceived official intolerance, sending national guardsmen to take over Plaza Altamira in the capital. Maduros mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chavez, also picked off rivals one by one in previous political crises, but rarely if ever over such a short period of time. His rivals said they would not be bullied into submission, vowing new marches. Two-time opposition presidential candidate and Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles said through his Twitter account Thursday that Maduro had thrown gasoline on the fire. He and only he will be responsible for the situation that unfolds in the country, Capriles wrote... Protests continued on Thursday, when police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a student-called protest of several thousand people in Caracas. Some of those demonstrating against the arrests of the mayors threw objects at riot police. There were no injuries reported. The night before, several businesses were looted or burned, including a large supermarket, in San Diego. Carabobo state Gov. Francisco Ameliach, a member of the ruling party, used his Twitter account to blame terrorist groups that were sown and protected in San Diego by authorities. Venezuelas National Assembly on Tuesday voted to start a process to strip opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado of her immunity so they could bring charges against her for allegedly trying to destabilize the government. Machado, a former presidential candidate, was expected to speak Friday at a meeting of the Organization of American States in Washington about the situation in Venezuela. Because the Venezuelan government controls the countrys seat at the organization, Panama has offered Machado its seat to make her presentation to the regional body. --Venezuela Moves Swiftly Against Opposition, FABIOLA SANCHEZ and ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press/ABC News, March 19, 2014 abcnews.go/International/wireStory/mayor-city-worker-killed-venezuela-22975379?singlePage=true **************** **************** COMMENT: Its the government that is the problem in Venezuela. They are socialist and they are failing and are trying to keep it together. The new leader is a complete idiot. The kids are rebelling against a failed system and that is why the lamestream media doesnt even report on this. No one hoarded the food. With inflation, you are not going to get food on the shelves without supply and demand economics. Price controls -- what???? Did you see the stories on food lines? They put price controls on food -- which led to empty shelves. Duh!
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 17:34:15 +0000
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