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?

Leopoldo Lopez forced to go to trial in Venezuela

Las week Political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez was forced to go to a trial in Venezuela, a country where there is not justice or transparency. His wife Lilian Tintoti has expressed  strong concern about Leopoldo’s health condition.

Last February  Venezuelan political leader Leopoldo Lopez was a victim of an  illegal court procedure behind closed doors. This action not only violated the rights of Leopoldo to have a fair trial, but also violated the Venezuelan Constitution. 

Maduro's cowardliness started with the unjustified arrest of  Leopoldo Lopez,  The regime has kept Lopez  in prison for more than a year, falsely accused of steering violent protests against the Maduro regime.  Angry protests erupted after the senseless murder of the actress and model Monica Spear and her husband. Spear's murder, followed  by a rape attempt to a female University student, further infuriated students who took to the streets to protest the enormous insecurity problems that face the country.

The protests grew across the country, leaving over 50 students dead and  hundreds incarcerated.  In support of the students,  Leopoldo Lopez called for peaceful protests. This prompted the Maduro regime to exercise its dictatorship role, arresting Leopoldo Lopez in February. A year later,  Leopoldo Lopez remains Maduro's prisoner.

Meanwhile, other political leaders like City of Tachira's Major Daniel  Ceballos  who is currently in critical conditions, in a Los Teques prison, and Caracas' Major, Antonio Ledezma were imprisoned by Maduro under false accusations. Student protestors remain victims of this government, many in prison and suffering abuses and tortures.

The bravery of our young student protesters and their desire for a better nation have forced them to forfeit their dreams and confront the dictator with their only weapon: Protesting. The Maduro regime has decided to not only steal their futures with economic uncertainty, but also to take their lives for speaking out. In a perfect world, Nicolas Maduro should have been forced to resign by the international community, and be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

More Abuses from SEBIN, Maduro’s Repressive Police

A year ago, sound engineer Pablo Estrada Izaguirre was detained and imprisoned by the SEBIN, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service. Since his arrest, he has been in a jail known as “La Tumba”  (the Coffin), located in Caracas, leaving behind his girlfriend and newborn baby. In this jail, horrific acts of human rights violations are committed daily against the prisoners, who are mostly activists thrown in tiny cells in extremely cold temperatures and deprived of sun for many months.

The sad part of Pablo Estrada Izaguirre’s story is that, according to his lawyer, he has never engaged in political activities. This 37-year old man was detained in an arbitrary and oppressive manner by the Maduro regime last year, in reaction to the student protests against the regime that had spread throughout the country. The protests were due to the lack of security that exists in the country, in addition to high unemployment and long lines to purchase basic products.

Izaguirre suffers a very serious illness. Before his arrest, he was being treated for disseminated tuberculosis, “a contagious bacterial infection in which the tuberculosis bacteria spread from the lungs to other parts of the body through the blood. “

Pablo Estrada Izaguirre requires treatment and according with his lawyer the SEBIN has no access to this type of medical care, nor is it allowing doctors to provide related medical services to this man.

Pablo's condition continues to deteriorate without any hope for his release in sight. Once again, the Maduro regime will have blood on its hands if something happens to Pablo. 

International Pressure Against Maduro to stop his Killing Machine

Violence has increased in Venezuela under the Nicolas Maduro's watch.  Maduro has demonstrated a blatant disregard for human rights, particularly against students and political leaders since he took office in 2014. Last week Antonio Ledezma, the Mayor of Caracas was arrested, and  Opposition leader Jorge Borges is “under investigation.”

This past Tuesday, a 14-year-old high school student from San Cristobal was shot in the head at point blank range when he was protesting. This style of murdering dissidents is becoming common in Venezuela. Last week we heard the senseless killing of three university students who were in police custody. They were found tortured to death.  The list of human right violations goes on and on with no end in sight.  The Maduro regime and his clan are very aware  that the Venezuelan problems of food shortage and lack of productivity are not going  away.  Protesters in Venezuela have emerged since last February against the regime’s inability to perform its duties.  Nicolas Maduro is again focusing his attention on oppression and human rights violations instead of solving the immediate economic crisis.

This past January, General Vladimir Padrino López, passed a resolution which gives  license to  police to murder students who protest.  This mandate supports the use of firearms and other weapons against “immediate aggressions” according with the Minister. 

International Pressure Against Maduro to stop his  Killing Machine 

The subsequent abuses of power in Venezuela has prompted international outrage. This past Wednesday the US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Maduro regime of  "egregious behavior" and promised  to expedite  the implementation of recent sanctions to those members of his cabinet that have committed human right violations. These sanctions are crucial, but in addition to the sanctions, international pressure must also  come from the UN, the OAE,  the European Communities, and all the democratic Latin American nations.

This is to stop  the Nicolas Maduro killing rampage and hopefully force him out of office through democratic means. 

It is interesting to note that the students today who are protesting this violent and oppressive regime only know Chavismo as a way of government. They have no other point of reference.

When Chavez came to power in 1999, most of the students where either toddlers or were just entering elementary school.  These young people only have known the Chavez Socialism of the XXI Century , a failing political ideology, hybrid from the collapsing  Cuban  political system under the Castro brothers, who are still holding  power after 56 years.
Maduro will not last that long. The protests will continue. Maduro will go,  but the question is,  how much more  damage will he cause on his way out.