Last week, Nicolás Maduro wanted to show his power and paraded civilians armed with rifles through the center of Caracas as part of a “new active defense plan” to “reactivate all the bodies of working class combatants.” throughout the country. Public officials, workers from the oil sector and the state electricity company, wielding firearms, fulfilled their oath in front of the sword of Simón Bolívar, in an event that coincided with the commemoration of the 194 years since the liberator’s death. “Go to combat, to battle and always to victory,” the Venezuelan leader ordered them. «Let’s continue defeating fascists and terrorism. Whether it comes from outside or whether it comes from within.” The event, in which the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, was also present, took place a few weeks before January 10, the date on which the elected president, Edmundo González, assures who will return to the country to assume the leadership of the State, the role for which the majority of Venezuelans chose him. Related News He wanted to exchange them for standard Jorge Glas If Maduro turns the asylum seekers into the Argentine embassy in exchangeable hostages Susana Gaviña With the mediation of Colombia and Brazil, she offered to give safe passage to the six opponents who have been in the diplomatic headquarters for nine months if Ecuador agreed to hand over the correista and former vice president Jorge Glas. Human rights defender Tamara Suju has warned about the danger of the delivery of firearms to civilians, to “people without training or knowledge of proper handling.” A fact that he describes as the “preparation of subversive groups to not recognize the popular mandate on January 10.” Workers’ fighters These “workers’ fighters” armed by Chavismo are part of the Bolivarian militia, a component of the Armed Forces that was originally created as a reserve corps and is made up of volunteers – men and women – of all ages. According to the Government, there are more than 4,300,000 people that make up the militia, an entity that has been criticized by the opposition not only for the amount of resources it unnecessarily consumes, but for representing another step in the deepening of the militarization of Venezuelan society, or the “civil-military union.” “police force”, as the ruling party calls it. Different analysts point to the Armed Forces as the only pillar that still supports Chavismo, since the popular support that Hugo Chávez garnered has been completely squandered by Ripe . These armed forces have been the protagonists of repression in recent times, which has managed to silence any type of street demonstration of dissent. Forces of repression In recent years, the Venezuelan Government has been increasing the war rhetoric, pointing to the “American empire.” as the external enemy and the “fascist right” as the internal enemy, to promote fear among the population and paralyze it, something that different NGOs have denounced. In 2017, when the country was experiencing intense days of protests, Amnesty International (AI) assured that, by deploying military forces and courts to confront an increasingly tense political and social situation, the Maduro administration only intensified the crisis, “like someone “Try putting out a fire with gasoline.” “By deeming protesters ‘terrorists’ and accusing civilians of crimes that only apply to soldiers, the Maduro administration turns the political crisis into a violent conflict, when it should be listening to people’s legitimate concerns and working to address them.” find solutions,” an AI report then denounced. But the Government has made it clear that it does not want to listen to the concerns of the population, which are the beginning of a transition, and has decided to cling to power. The Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López , has insisted that the The Armed Forces must be aware of the “historical moment” that the country is experiencing. “Two hundred years later, imperialism continues in its plot to disrupt, fragment, destroy, divide the revolutionary forces, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces,” he said during an event on December 14, the day he reiterated his loyalty. to Maduro.Use of forceAccording to analysts, the radical terminology that Venezuela’s ruling leadership increasingly resorts to serves to justify an eventual use of force, despite the fact that it is not used against real martial enemies, but as a threat of political violence for those who think differently. The event at which Padrino López spoke, in Caracas, had as its occasion the announcement of the operational deployment of the Rapid Reaction Units (URRA) to “reinforce the defensive system territorial”. These forces were created in 2021 to respond to any type of emergency. What is really notable is not the display of these Quick Reaction Units, which in the past have participated in other military activities such as dismantling illegal mining structures, but rather at the time they are deployed. Cabello ordered the military to respond to those who want to “seek violence as a way to seize political power,” as well as those who “want to take over the resources” of the oil country, highlighting the fact that in Venezuela there are “enemies who call for violence” and have committed “terrorist” acts against their own people. For freedomAlthough he did not specify who he was referring to, those adjectives are the same ones he uses to talk about freedom. Venezuelan opposition led by María Corina Machado. “The objective is to guarantee that the country remains free, sovereign and independent,” Cabello declared. «Venezuela is under siege. Our country receives threats every day from those who want to take over resources.” During the activity, Chavismo delivered vehicles to “guarantee the mobility and immediate response” of the twenty Rapid Reaction Units deployed throughout the country “wherever it is necessary to provide ». “Let us carry out our action with zeal, with deep professionalism, with an ethical sense, with the use of weapons and respect for human rights,” stated Padrino López during the event, identified by the UN as one of those responsible in the chain. of command of the systematic violations of human rights in Venezuela.
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