Protests in Venezuela

[Tekun]

From what I've read and heard, these protests have infused instability and havoc into many Venezuelan streets
Ppl blocking roads, marches, fighting with the police...

Now, from what is reported and declared, it seems that these protestors are asking for justice and an investigation regarding these homicides

However, with rising tensions between the US and Venezuela, and a history of American covert operations in Latin America...these protests could be a decoy by the imperialists to create such extreme conditions which would force Chavez to step down
Or even worse, these demonstrations could be the start of an overthrow, like what happened in 2002

Not only are these demonstrations intense, but they also proved to be deadly
In addition, they've escalated the criticism within and outside Venezuela, against the gov
Am I blowing this out of proportion, or are the imperialists behind the scenes?



Venezuela killings spark protests

Hundreds of students took part in the demonstrations
Protesters in Venezuela have taken to the streets in anger following the discovery of the bodies of three boys kidnapped on their way to school.
Police fired tear gas at demonstrators blocking a road as thousands of marchers brought Caracas traffic to a standstill, demanding justice.

After the protests, the capital's mayor said he was replacing the chief of police with an army brigadier general.

Correspondents say there is frustration over the perceived rise in crime.

Jason, Kevin and John Faddoul - aged 12, 13 and 17 respectively - were abducted while being driven to school in February. They held dual Canadian-Venezuelan nationality.

Their driver was also killed. The kidnappers remain unidentified.

Last week, a prominent Italian businessman was kidnapped and later murdered.

Photographer shot

In the Caracas neighbourhood where the brothers grew up, residents set up road blocks to express anger and sorrow over the killings.

The protesters carried banners and shouted slogans such as: "Justice for the Faddoul brothers."

Students also marched to the ministry of the interior.


(L-R) Kevin, John and Jason Faddoul were born in Venezuela

"Where is the justice, where is the answer for the people, how many people die here each week?" protester Cristina Alvarez told the Reuters news agency.

"At times, you don't trust your neighbour," university student Alejandro Linares told the Associated Press news agency.

A news photographer covering the demonstrations, Jorge Aguirre, was shot dead by an unknown gunman while covering one of the protests.

The Faddoul boys' kidnappers had demanded the parents pay a ransom of $4.5m. The family's lawyer said it had been too much to pay.

A farmer found the boys' bodies in scrubland outside the city, with gunshot wounds to the neck and head.

Police investigations are so far focusing on eyewitness accounts that the youngsters and their chauffeur were seized at a fake checkpoint manned by men in police uniforms.

However, Venezuela's attorney-general says so far he has no evidence of police involvement in any of the cases.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4881848.stm

[Guerrilla22]

Crime has been on the rise in Venezuela, however its even worse in countries like Guatemala that have hardline right leaning governments.

[Tekun]

^Without a doubt, my fam keeps us in touch on how bad crime has gotten in Guatemala

Too many gangs or maras

[CLOCKWORK ORANGE]

Crime has been on the rise in Venezuela
Crime in Venezuela has always been high.
Venezuela ranks 4th in murders per captia, and 7th in total. And am just talking murders.
Murder per capita rankings (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_mur_percap)
Total Murders (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_mur)


its even worse in countries like Guatemala that have hardline right leaning governments.
I highly doubt it. Proof?

[Tekun]

I highly doubt it. Proof?


Analysis: The homicide rate, it must be noted, does not spread evenly across the country. "In 1999, Guatemala City was identified by the IADB as the third most violent urban center in Latin America behind Cali and Medellín (in Colombia), with a homicide rate of 101.5 per 100,000". (4) In the same study, several regions of Guatemala show even higher homicide rates, with the departments of Escuintla, Izabal, Jutiapa, and Santa Rosa registering homicide rates of 165, 127, 114 and 111 per 100,000, respectively. (4)

http://www.research.ryerson.ca/SAFER-Net/r...s/Gua_MY03.html (http://www.research.ryerson.ca/SAFER-Net/regions/Americas/Gua_MY03.html)

[bolshevik butcher]

Well it's a sad truth about crime in Venezuela. I think that it's worth noting though that advances by the Chavez governemnt have all but diminished gangs holds on the shanty towns on the hills around caracass.

[redstar2000]

Emerging capitalist countries are violent.

Inspite of all the blather in the western mainstream media about violent crime now, it's nothing compared, for example, to the 19th and early 20th centuries.

If it were possible to accurately compare numbers for modern Caracas vs. late 19th century London or New York City, Caracas would almost certainly "come out ahead".

Even Guatemala City might not "look that bad". :lol:

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

[Janus]

Check out this latest incident from Venezuela. :lol:


Originally posted by AP
The U.S. ambassador to Venezuela has grown used to facing protests and shouts of "Yankee go home!" But supporters of President Hugo Chavez appeared to cross the line when they pelted his car with eggs and tomatoes, then chased after his convoy on motorcycles.

The incident Friday drew a strong response from Washington, which summoned Venezuela's ambassador and warned him of "severe diplomatic consequence" in the event of a similar incident.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Brian Penn said Venezuelan police escorts did nothing to intervene as a car carrying Ambassador William Brownfield was pounded, kicked and pelted. No one was hurt.

"We were under attack by these motorcyclists throwing fruits and vegetables," Penn said. "They were pounding on the cars, including pounding on the ambassador's car while they were driving. There was no one stopping them."

It was the third time in three weeks that Brownfield has been met by protesters; other times, demonstrators have burned tires and torched an American flag.

Emotions have run high among Chavez supporters as the Venezuelan leader has accused the United States of plotting against him. American officials have denied it while accusing him of stifling democracy.

The latest protest began when Brownfield visited a baseball stadium in a poor Caracas neighborhood to hand out bats and other donated equipment for a youth league. He often holds public events to donate to charities and meet community leaders — even in Chavez strongholds.

This time, a Chavez supporter who described himself as an official of the Caracas mayor's office walked up and said people in the area wanted Brownfield to leave, Penn said. The ambassador stayed and finished the event, while a few dozen people outside chanted, "Go home! Go home!"

Penn said the barrage of tomatoes, eggs, onions and other items began when the convoy pulled out and drove through an adjacent market.

"Outside, the ladies and gentlemen who were protesting, stoning, egging, tomatoing, and then following, identified themselves — at least by their shouts and their screams — as members of the Tupamaros," Brownfield told Voice of America radio. "The Tupamaros is a clandestine organization, who describe themselves as urban guerrillas."

Leaders of the group, however, have renounced violence in recent years and formed a pro-Chavez political party.

The U.S. Embassy released a video taken from inside a convoy car, its windows splattered with broken eggs, showing motorcyclists racing up to the four-car convoy and then dropping back. At one point, Brownfield said, the car was stuck in traffic and the motorcyclists surrounded him, banging on the vehicle.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the incident "clearly was condoned by the local government." He said local officials were handing out snacks to the perpetrators at the stadium.

The mayor's office denied any involvement. Brownfield said the Venezuelan foreign ministry had called his office to express concern.

While at the stadium, protesters shouted: "Coup-plotter!" Some Venezuelans have accused Brownfield of conspiring with Chavez's opponents.

The ambassador denied it, saying his frequent public appearances are aimed at diplomacy and nothing more. "What I do in Venezuela is to try to project a positive image of the country and people I represent," he told reporters at the ballpark.

Everyone has a right to protest if they want, Brownfield said, but added, "I don't accept the right to violence."

He also made clear he wouldn't let the protests keep him from getting out in the community. "I don't accept the right of one group to tell me who I can meet with and who I can't," he said.

The US State Department has now accused Caracas city officials of complicity in this attack on the car of the U.S. Ambassador in the Venezuelan capital.

[Cheung Mo]

Good. It's nice to see a country standing up for itself against America's imperialistic, neo-liberal and authoritarian agenda.

As I post this. Rammstein's Amerika, a social commentary on American cultural imperialism, is playing on WinAmp, ironically an American product owned by AOL.