Maduro Promises Prison for His Opponents
HAVANA TIMES – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that the National Constituent Assembly, whose members were elected on Sunday, will be used to bring the opposition leadership to justice and sent to jail.
Maduro said that one of the first decisions of the Assembly will be to establish a Truth Commission with a plenipotentiary powers to bring to justice several of its opponents, including some deputies who currently have parliamentary immunity.
“Justice, justice and peace go together, only through justice will we achieve peace,” he said.
The election of the Constituent Assembly was held after almost four months of protests against the Maduro government that have left more than a hundred dead, a balance for which both sides blame each other.
Maduro pointed to the opposition leaders Julio Borges and Henry Ramos Allup to have been responsible for the violent demonstrations over the last months.
Despite these criticisms, Maduro said he was willing to open a dialogue “with good Venezuela”, but warned that several of his adversaries could end up in jail.
“If you continue with your madness, you will be worn down, some will end up… in a cell under a court sentence, others will end up in the psychiatric hospital, because what they demonstrate is a great madness. The Constituent Assembly has come to bring order, “he said.
The opposition refused to participate in the electoral process Sunday which it called a “fraud” to the Constitution and denounced that Maduro’s true objective is to modify the Constitution at his own convenience, to dissolve the public powers that oppose him and to persecute those who oppose the imposition of a dictatorship.
Obviously Wendy Holm you have little if any knowledge of Cuba and its political system. Secondly you a re factually incorrect in saying that “Nicholas Maduro is a respected socialist leader throughout Latin America.” Did you consider the 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries that voted at the recent meeting of the OAS to censure Maduro? Did you consider the expressed views of Colombia and Mexico?
Perhaps you reflect your own opinion as a Canadian rather than that of more informed fellow countrymen when you write: “Canada understands little of Latin America.”
Venezuela under Maduro demonstrates a communist driven creep towards dictatorship modelled upon the model of Castro’s Cuban dictatorship. For many of us, including your fellow Canadians, dictatorship is evel, it is contrary to freedom, liberty and humanity.
JUST POSTED TO FACE BOOK: I am ashamed of Canada’s toady acceptance of Washington’s condemnation of yesterday’s legal election in Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro is a respected socialist leader throughout Latin America. Doesn’t this tell us something? The battle in Venezuela is between capitalism (read “investorism”) and socialism, and the sovereign right of nations to
democratically chose how to organize their economy and society. Right
wing politicians and the media (doing the bidding of their investor-owners)
brand “socialism” as “communism” in an attempt to evoke the bogey man
to entrench investor rights over community rights. Venezuela is
completely about this. Maduro’s proposed changes would strengthen the
peoples voice in the constitution: part of the governing national
assembly would be elected at the municipal level and another part
elected by groups of farmers, students, workers, and indigenous people
(mass organizations). This sounds to me very much like Cuba’s electoral
system, and it you want to understand how well that works, read Arnold August.
Fearing a growing threat to their rights, investors set their lap dogs
– governments and the covert operations they control – to create the
appearance of public dissent. “…the opposition refuses to participate
in the electoral process…” they cry. More likely the opposition was
afraid to show it’s hand in public, fearing it would come up empty.
Interest their weapon of choice – in their plea for “democracy” – was to
refuse to stand before the public to be judged. Canada understands
little of Latin America. Perhaps Venezuela affords us an opportunity
for us to learn.