Photo by andresAzp
San Cristobal Mayor Daniel Ceballos has been an outspoken critic of the Venezuelan government's use of security forces in his city. And so when he traveled to Caracas recently to attend a meeting of opposition-affiliated mayors, he may have known that he was putting himself at risk. But he probably didn't expect those same security forces to arrest him this morning in his hotel and take him to the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service headquarters.San Cristobal is known as the cradle of the anti-government protests that began last month in Venezuela, and Ceballos had become a leader of the opposition movement. The government blamed him for the death of a National Guardsman in San Cristobal yesterday, the fifth to die since the protests began; at least 28 protestors have been killed.“This is an act of justice for a mayor who not only did not meet his obligations as required by law and the constitution, but also facilitated and supported all the irrational violence first unleashed in the city of San Cristobal,” Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said on state television.The Popular Will Party was formed in 2009 to oppose former President Hugo Chavez. Since the protests erupted, party members have loudly voiced their opinions about Maduro, Chavez's chosen successor, and his repressive government. They blame him for the country's skyrocketing inflation, high murder rates, and shortages of basic necessities. Ceballos and Scarano are both members of the Popular Will party.US Secretary of State John Kerry called for an end to Maduro’s attack on the opposition.“We are trying to find a way to get the Maduro government to engage with their citizens, to treat them respectfully, to end this terror campaign against his own people and to begin to, hopefully, respect human rights in an appropriate way,” Kerry told the US Congress earlier this month.Maduro’s response: The United States should stop supporting “murderous fascist groups” plotting a coup against the government.Photo via
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Over the past month, President Nicolas Maduro’s government has continued to target opposition leaders. The mayor of San Diego, Enzo Scarano, was removed from office and then sentenced yesterday to more than 10 months in prison for failing to keep protesters from barricading streets in his city. Last month the leader of the Popular Will Party, Leopoldo Lopez, was arrested for attempting to destabilize the government and “inciting violence,” which has seemingly become the go-to charge when security officials arrest members of the opposition. Maduro called Lopez the “political boss of the rightwing fascists” after he was arrested.“If my jailing serves to awake a people, serves to awaken Venezuela … then it will be well worth the infamous imprisonment imposed upon me directly, with cowardice,” Lopez shouted through a megaphone to more than 10,000 supporters before he was led away.'If my jailing serves to awake a people and awaken Venezuela, then it will be well worth the imprisonment imposed upon me.'
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