Maria Oropezaa close collaborator of the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machadobroadcast his arrest at the hands of the military live, which provoked a wave of reactions inside and outside the country.
Oropeza, coordinator of Machado’s campaign command in the state Portuguesespread the moment on his Instagram account, showing officials of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM) knocking and forcing entry into his house.
During the broadcast, Oropeza denounced that the soldiers entered without a search warrant and asked for help from those who saw her. “I am not a criminal, I am just another citizen who wants a different country,” she said before the broadcast was interrupted.
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Alert!
I ask the residents of Guanare to go to Carrera 17 with Calle 8, where regime officials intend to arrest Maria Oropeza, Director of the Comando Con Vzla in Portuguesa pic.twitter.com/tBRfjATzsy— Maria Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 7, 2024
Hours before his arrest, Oropeza publicly criticized the “Operation Tun Tun” by the DGCIM, a campaign that urges citizens to report cases of physical or virtual “hate”. This operation, according to Oropeza, lacks legal grounds and constitutes a “witch hunt” against those who expressed themselves in the recent presidential elections of July 28, which the opposition denounces as fraudulent.
In these elections, the electoral authority proclaimed Nicolas Maduro re-elected for a third six-year term with 52% of the votes, compared to 43% obtained by the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who represented Machado due to his disqualification. Both María Corina Machado and González Urrutia have denounced fraud and claim to have evidence that proves the opposition’s victory.
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The protests that followed the election have resulted in more than 2,200 arrests, according to official figures, and at least 24 deaths, according to human rights organisations. In this context, more than a hundred opposition activists have been arrested.
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2024-08-12 22:00:22