Venezuela's Government Flexes Repressive Muscle Just Days Before Inauguration | International | EL PAÍS English

El régimen chavista de Venezuela ha movilizado toda su capacidad de represión e intimidación 72 horas antes del Día de la Inauguración, programado para el viernes. En un país cercado por la policía y el ejército, el yerno del candidato opositor Edmundo González Urrutia fue arrestado a primeras horas del martes, y pocas horas después comenzaron a sobrevolar drones la casa de la madre de la líder opositora María Corina Machado, quien quedó sin electricidad debido a los cortes de luz en esa zona. Agentes encapuchados se encontraban apostados en las entradas de los hogares de disidentes y críticos, mientras que en todo el país se llevaban a cabo detenciones de opositores, aunque el número exacto aún no ha sido determinado. En algunos barrios de Caracas, los residentes manifestaron su descontento golpeando cacerolas desde sus balcones. El presidente Nicolás Maduro informó que siete extranjeros habían sido arrestados, calificándolos de “mercenarios”, sumando así un total de 125 personas detenidas por las autoridades chavistas en los últimos días. En este momento, nadie se siente seguro en Venezuela.

Maduro spent almost the entire day on television. His government has responded to each and every complaint from countries critical of what is happening, especially the United States. The day before, Edmundo González Urrutia had been received by Joe Biden in the White House. González Urrutia, who won Venezuela’s presidential elections on July 28, according to the voter tallies verified by international organizations, left with the outgoing American president’s promise that they will support his fight. Donald Trump’s entourage has also made it clear to González Urrutia — who acts largely on behalf of María Corina Machado, the politician who has achieved a massive mobilization to achieve a transition in Venezuela — that they will support him in the same way once Trump takes office on January 20th.

González Urrutia insists that he will be in Caracas on Friday to be sworn in. Chavismo says it will arrest him as soon as he sets foot on Venezuelan soil, just like the former Latin American presidents who want to accompany him. María Corina Machado will face a similar risk on Thursday, when she plans to lead a protest. She will be seen in public for the first time after months of remaining in a secret location from which she interacts via telephone and video calls. Diosdado Cabello, the Minister of the Interior, has threatened her directly: “She is eager to be caught.”