Nicolas Maduro is Deceiving the World while he Steals the Parliamentary Elections

In his quest to stay in power Nicolas Maduro has done everything, from repressing dissidents, incarcerating opposition leaders and student protesters, to even standing in front of the United Nations announcing possible violent acts from the Opposition “to alter the Parliamentary elections.”  

He has vowed to demonstrate his “vocation for a democratic and peaceful elections”, while in practice to Human Right Watch, uses the judicial system as a tool to penalize the Opposition. A case in point is the one of Political leader Leopoldo Lopez who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for leading peaceful protests against the regime. Seventy-eight others have also paid a huge price for protesting the regime, with torture and jail time.

Nicolas Maduro and his oppressive government, in another  move to maintain complete control of the electoral process, has prematurely retired 13 Supreme Court judges. The reason for this blatant disregard for the Venezuelan Democratic process is so he can replace those judges with those in favor of the regime and without the intervention of the Opposition. Maduro did the same a year ago, when 14 judges were replaced before of their scheduled retirement.

of their retirement.   At that time these judges were appointed bypassing any input from the opposition.

Maduro has also paralyzed the Opposition by banning them from running for parliamentary elections.  To top it all, Maduro has rejected foreign observers as was proposed by the the OAS, to observe the December electoral process in Venezuela. I will continue asking the same question:  Can a country where there is no transparency and the institutions of government are sequestered, have fair elections this December 6, 2015?

Farewell to my good friend Manuel Kohn

After a long battle with several illnesses, our good friend Manuel Kohn died in Manhattan this past Saturday.  For those of us who knew him, we remember a man who loved Venezuela, his Country of origin and who, for the past 15 years, fought for its freedom and justice.

I met Manuel five years ago at the exhibit of one of my documentaries about the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Since then we became very good friends. He inspired me to do a documentary about Cuban Political Prisoners. He believed that the Cuban tragedy has become the new Venezuelan tragedy. He called it the Cuban Holocaust.

Manuel was a brilliant man who took New York by storm. He lived in the Big Apple with the love of his life, his wife Beatriz whom he met in high school back in Venezuela.
Manuel was a thinker but above he was funny. He made light of everything and whenever you were with him; you had to laugh. His big line was “don’t worry, be happy.”

Manuel Kohn not only inspired me but also kicked me in the butt when he felt I doubted myself.
I will miss You, my friend because you made me laugh when I just wanted to cry. Thank you for being there for me and your honest friendship.  You didn’t have the chance to see a free Venezuela, but I have no doubt that your wishes will always follow us.

Our Cuban Inheritance: SEBIN, The Political Police

It is painful to read the letter sent by three Venezuelan activists and political prisoners who are currently suffering human rights violations in prison in Caracas known as “Coffin."

These young and courageous men were a part of “Operation Freedom,” a Venezuelan organization that opposes the Nicolas Maduro regime. Lorent Gómez Saleh, Gabriel Valles, and Gerardo Carrero are in a Cuban-style prison in the capital city of Venezuela.According to their parents, who are the only people allowed to visit them, these young men are kept isolated from each other. They are kept in a small cells, painted all in white, with a cement bed and extremely cold temperatures. They have not had access to sunlight in months and are becoming more and more ill from cold and isolation.

The Maduro regime accuses them of being part of “violent protests” which took place four years ago. Last year the three young men who were under house arrest, escaped to Colombia seeking refuge.  In a shameful move, the Colombian  government deported  them and returned then to the abuses and tortures that come with political imprisonment and dictatorship in Venezuela. Lorent Gomez Saleh,Gabiriel Valles and Gerardo Carrero are standing firm with their convictions and are asking the Venezuelan people to stand firm with them for freedom and democracy in Venezuela.