CARACAS, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Opposition leader Juan Guaido accused the Venezuelan government of trying to “gag” congress after security forces prevented opposition lawmakers from entering the National Assembly on Tuesday.
From early Tuesday, the security services cordoned off the building housing the National Assembly. Bullet-proof vehicles and a tow truck were parked in the surrounding streets.
Deputies said members of the National Guard, who provide security for the building, along with police and SEBIN intelligence agents blocked access to the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
“SEBIN agents, using the excuse that there’s an explosive device within the facilities, took over the federal palace. We’re surrounded by intelligence agents,” lawmaker Manuela Bolivar said.
Guaido tried to incite an uprising against Maduro on April 30 but only around 30 members of the armed forces joined him, and the revolt quickly petered out. It did however spark two days of deadly clashes between protesters and security forces.
Since then, the Maduro regime has ramped up pressure on Guaido’s allies and supporters.
The Constituent Assembly, a rival legislative body that was created by the Maduro government and is packed with people who support him, voted Tuesday to strip immunity from five more opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly. That brings to 14 the number who will presumably go trial for backing the failed insurrection. The charges include treason.
One of them, deputy assembly speaker Edgar Zambrano was arrested by SEBIN agents last week. Another fled to neighboring Colombia while three others sought refuge in diplomatic compounds.
The move came as Amnesty International said it believes the Venezuelan authorities have committed crimes against humanity in their crackdown on anti-government protests, and urged the International Criminal Court to investigate.
The London-based rights group said at least 47 people were killed during the protests from Jan 21 to 25. At least 33 were shot dead by the security forces, and six by government supporters.
“Eleven of these deaths were extrajudicial executions,” said Erika Guevara, Americas director for Amnesty International, who presented a report in Mexico City, following February’s fact-finding mission to Venezuela.
Some Maduro opponents were tortured while 900 people, including children, were arbitrarily detained, Amnesty said.
“The nature of the attacks… the level of coordination by the security forces, as well as the signs of similar patterns in 2014 and 2017, leads Amnesty International to believe that the Venezuelan authorities committed crimes against humanity.”
Maduro himself “knew about these public and appalling acts and took no measures to either prevent or investigate them,” Amnesty added in its statement.
Guaido’s declaration that he is the country’s legitimate acting president, which has been supported by more than 50 countries, plunged Venezuela into a political crisis.
The oil-rich, cash-poor country has been stricken by recession and a humanitarian crisis in which almost a quarter of its 30 million population is in urgent need of aid, according to the United Nations.
The UN also says that more than 2.7 million people have fled the country since 2015. — NNN-AGENCIES
