Spanish.- It’s the same script as always, but now Chavismo is using it just months before the upcoming presidential elections, which – although they still don’t have a date – should take place in the second half of the year, according to the agreement in Barbados. It’s an announcement made by the regime’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, regarding the arrest of 31 people since May 2023, allegedly planning conspiracies to assassinate dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Saab claims it is a “continued conspiracy” that also aimed to attack the life of the Chavista governor of Táchira state, Freddy Bernal. However, the regime’s announcement confirms how they are using the old revolving door maneuver from Miraflores, which involves releasing some political prisoners and imprisoning others. In addition to recent detentions, they also issued arrest warrants against human rights defender Tamara Suju, journalist Sebastiana Barráez, retired military personnel Mario Iván Carratú Molina and José Antonio Colina, among others.
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Having political prisoners as bargaining chips is a strategy useful to Chavismo when exerting pressure on the international stage. The negotiations with the United States for the release of Álex Saab, accused of being a frontman for Maduro, were evidence of this. At that time, the Biden administration also demonstrated its significant diplomatic weakness by yielding to the Venezuelan dictatorship. Now, in Caracas, they announce the detention of more than thirty people as part of “Operation White Bracelet,” supposedly involving four conspiracies identified last year and another on January 1 of this year.
For journalist Sebastiana Barráez, it’s “another operation” fabricated by intelligence agencies. “The perfect excuse to pursue, create fear, threaten, imprison, and kill,” she stated in a video circulated on X.
Violation of the Barbados agreements
This is not the first time the Venezuelan regime resorts to an assassination attempt to then activate persecution against opponents. In 2018, they accused the then-deputies Julio Borges and Juan Requesens of “planning” a drone attack against the Venezuelan dictator while he led a military event in Caracas. Of the 43 accused, 16 were sentenced to terms ranging from five to 30 years in prison. The victims’ testimonies coincide: they have suffered torture, and their trials presented numerous irregularities.
Additionally, with the new arrests and arrest warrants, Maduro and his cabinet commit another violation of the agreement signed in Barbados, which stipulated, among various conditions, the release of political prisoners. Washington conditioned the easing of sanctions not only on this requirement but also on the lifting of unconstitutional disqualifications and the holding of free elections. However, while the Biden administration continues to yield, the Chavista regime mocks and ensures new bargaining chips to secure more “negotiations” in its goal of remaining in power.
Chavismo’s threat against María Corina’s event
This new wave of electoral persecution was confirmed on the same day the “five conspiracies” were announced. The regime also called for a mobilization of its ranks in the same area where the anti-Chavista presidential candidate, María Corina Machado, will hold a gathering to launch the Grand National Alliance, a coalition of organizations supporting her candidacy.
Chavismo’s number two, Diosdado Cabello, proclaimed his threat during a press conference: “They will find us in the street (…) a great mobilization to prevent more betrayals to the people.” Both events will take place on January 23 and will be less than a kilometer apart.
In conclusion, the Chavista regime continues to tighten the rope and resort to old maneuvers when there is little time left for the presidential elections, whose projections predict María Corina Machado as the winner by almost 40 points over dictator Nicolás Maduro if free elections could be held, as the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) in the service of the dictatorship has not yet responded to the request for a review and lifting of Machado’s unconstitutional disqualification.