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Despite claims by the U.S., human rights abuses against Venezuelan's opposition and violence were virtually non-existent in Saturday's demonstrations.
Venezuelan human rights group, Foro Penal, has reported that there has been no repression against the opposition in Venezuela during a recent demonstration, despite constant assertions of such actions by the United States officials hoping to validate their coup attempts against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
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Foro Penal is a non-governmental organization that works throughout the entire country and which offers defense lawyers for those who feel they’ve been arbitrarily detained for exercising their constitutional rights to demonstrate. They reportedly have 5,000 volunteers, including non-lawyer activists among their ranks, working for human rights in the country.
Executive Director for Foro Penal Alfredo Romero tweeted that there have been no claims of repression, nor other kinds of incidents in rallies and demonstrations that took place Saturday:
#2Feb Reporte de @ForoPenal a las 8:00PM: No ha ocurrido incidencia alguna en relación con concentraciones en #Venezuela No hay denuncias de detenciones u otros incidentes.
— Alfredo Romero (@alfredoromero) February 3, 2019
Thousands of supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gathered in Caracas to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bolivarian revolution, with opposition groups attending a rally led by “interim president” Juan Guaido.
The opposition, who back intervention in the country by the United States, carried images of U.S. President Donald, Trump, and patriotic symbols form the United States, like the Statue of Liberty and U.S. flags, etc.
Trump’s administration has been leading the international interventionist efforts against the Venezuelan people and has multiple times suggested a possible military option to topple President Maduro, an opinion echoed by some in his closest circle.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters gathered at Bolivar Avenue, where the president called for a dialogue with the opposition in order to reach a peaceful solution to the current political stand-off.
“Leave the path of Yankee interventionism, stop calling the war, stop supporting a coup that has already failed. The coup failed and they (the United States) do not realize it," he told the opposition.
Maduro greeted the call for a dialogue by the governments of Uruguay, Mexico, and the U.N.’s Antonio Guterres, and announced parliamentary elections in order to restore the National Assembly, in contempt since 2016.
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