The People’s Electoral Movement (MEP) – the largely empty carcass of AD’s left-wing faction that broke away from the party in the 60s – recently held its internal national assembly to elect its main authorities. In that context, Chairman Andrés Lusiano Lara and Secretary-General Wilmer Nolasco were ratified, along with the rest of its main board and other…
Yesterday, Maria Corina Machado offered a press conference to react to the Comptroller-General’s decision to bar her from holding public office for 12 months, which would leave her out of December 6th’s legislative election. Machado said that the formal reason given for her punishment is that she failed to declare her CestaTickets (a kind of private food-stamp often included…
Maria Corina Machado received today this paper from the Comptroller-General’s office, informing her that she’s declared ineligible to hold any public post for the next twelve months, therefore barring her of running in the December 6th legislative election. The picture of the document’s first page doesn’t say the specific reasons of why she has been…
Have a careful read at the “subtitles” under the Obama speech here: I’m going to go ahead and guess our favorite spokesman Jim Luers wrote that speech. The screen above is at the waiting room for SAPI (Servicio Autónomo de la Propiedad Intelectual), the public office in charge of “protecting” intellectual property in Venezuela, inasmuch as…
The Cota 905 area in western Caracas is a “peace zone” no more. Authorities launched a large-scale operation earlier today, including lots of National Police agents, National Guard soldiers and armored vehicles and SWAT teams from both the Criminal Investigations Police (CICPC) and the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN). The raid is part of the larger “People’s…
The National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) has expanded its core duties into supporting the State’s repression apparatus by monitoring what Venezuelans say on social media, among other things. But as CONATEL tries to do too much at once, its workers are feeling the strain. On Wednesday, CONATEL employees organized an impromptu protest right in front of the agency’s main offices to…
After three postponements, Nicolas Maduro finally went to the National Assembly Monday night to deliver his long-awaited “Esequibo speech”. How was it? It was a three hour-long, rambling, contradictory mess. The speech showed not only the weak case Venezuela has but the way the government has mismanaged its claim in the last 15 years – and don’t forget, Maduro…
Between August and October of last year, eight Twitter users were detained by the Venezuelan intelligence service (SEBIN). To this day, five remain jailed in the Helicoide. Four have plead guilty to minor charges in exchange for lesser sentences and were pressured to change their defense lawyers (from NGO Foro Penal) for public defenders. But how…
One full year after El Universal, one of Venezuela’s oldest and largest newspapers, was bought by HegemonCorp., its opinion pages have been purged, journalists have been fired, its main cartoonist Rayma was unceremoniously dumped and its new editorial line has become insipid. HegemonCorp.’s alleged 120 million dollars takeover has paid off, even at the cost of the…
One week ago, Nicolas Maduro announced during his weekly TV show that he would address the National Assembly on June 25th, in order to present what he calls “…the official position in defense of the historic claim, the dispute over the Esequibo, and to ask for the national unity…”. Then the speech was postponed for…
The Venezuelan State is once again under review this week as the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee will monitor the country’s performance on civil and political rights, based on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The B.R. of V.’s delegation is lead by Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz, who will be joined by…
June 27th was Day of the Journalist in Venezuela and instead of being simply an occasion to celebrate, it was a day to protest the continuous erosion of free press in the nation. Journalists and press workers took the streets on Friday to demand respect for free speech and to demand an end to the…
Last Saturday, eight fishermen left their homes in San Francisco (South of Maracaibo) in the early hours to go to work. They didn’t return to their homes. Their families and friends became worried and the local police started a search. Three days later, authorities found them dehydrated on an oil rig in Lake Maracaibo, near the city of…
The national football team (a.k.a. La Vinotinto) returned to the country yesterday after its first-round elimination of the 2015 Copa America held in Chile. But the way back home for most of the Vinotinto players (some left Chile on their own) and crew was more complicated than expected. Sports newspaper Meridiano reports that the original plan…
Good news, everyone! With the blessing of the central government, North Korea will open its embassy in Caracas. More than a year has passed since the formal request, but in the end the self-described “dictatorship of people’s democracy” will finally have its own diplomatic post right inside the proletariat stronghold of… Las Mercedes. This should…
Caracas Chronicles 