Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro activated a national military-police plan on Tuesday evening, January 7, a little less than three days before his inauguration, while the authorities have already carried out a massive deployment of security forces in the capital Caracas.
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Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed winner of the July election with 52% of the votes by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which however did not make public the minutes of the polling stations, saying it had been the victim of computer hacking. This is considered not very credible by many observers.
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The opposition published the minutes provided by its scrutineers and ensures that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutian obtained more than 67% of the votes. She, who had not called for large gatherings for weeks, launched a mobilization slogan this Thursday, January 9 without specifying a date or time for the demonstration. The objective is to derail Maduro’s inauguration ceremony, scheduled for the National Assembly this Friday at noon.
Mass arrests
“ I proceed to activate the ODIs for the first time to defend peace, stability and the Venezuelan family “, declared the contested president. The ODIs, for Integral Defense Organs, bring together “ all the political power of Venezuelapopular power, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, the Bolivarian National Militia and all police forces “, specified Nicolás Maduro.
ODIs must “ activate from tonight, at the national level, and in the days that follow in all states, municipalities, parishes and communities to guarantee what will be an exemplary victory for peace in Venezuela “, he ordered. Previously, the Venezuelan president announced “ the capture of seven foreign mercenaries, including two important American mercenaries. They came to carry out terrorist actions against peace “. This Monday, the government had already indicated the arrest of 125 other people.
In this context, “ hooded men ” have ” removed » this Tuesday in Caracas the son-in-law of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia who claims victory in the presidential election, announced the opponent from Washington. The opposition regularly uses the word ” kidnapping » for the arrests, believing that the security forces do not respect the law. It was not possible to obtain an official reaction.
The government regularly denounces plots or attacks against it, frequently accusing the UNITED STATES or the opposition. Thousands of soldiers, militiamen and police officers – often hooded – have been deployed since this Sunday in Caracas, noted an AFP journalist.
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