Maduro Militarizes Venezuela and Unleashes a Wave of Arrests
In the leadup to his re-inauguration after the stolen elections
Maduro activates a new umbrella body combining political power, the armed forces and police to squash any opposition to his rule.
HAVANA TIMES – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro activated on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, “Comprehensive Leadership Bodies” which—he claimed—will combine political power, the Armed Forces, and police forces with the mission of “defending the country’s peace” in the days leading up to January 10. On that date, he insists he will be sworn in for a third consecutive term.
During a swearing-in ceremony of Bolivarian militias at the Miraflores Palace, the presidential headquarters in Caracas, Maduro announced that, exercising his “powers as constitutional president” and “commander-in-chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces,” he had approved the formation of these defense groups through a decree.
Wearing a camouflage uniform, Maduro described the new umbrella structure as “the superior body at the national, state, municipal, and communal levels that integrates all of Venezuela’s political power,” popular power, the Armed Forces, the Bolivarian National Militia “as a special component” of the military institution, and the police forces.
Maduro assured that these groups would begin operating “as of tonight” on January 7 and continue through January 8 and 9, ahead of January 10, the date set by the Constitution for the presidential inauguration, which both Maduro and exiled opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez have announced they will attend.
According to Maduro, the new structure activated “in all states, municipalities, parishes, and communities” will ensure “the exemplary victory of peace.”
“Active” Militias Across Venezuela
Maduro said that the new structure would operate to defend “peace, stability, and Venezuelan families” across 355 municipalities, all parishes, and communities.
Hundreds of armed militia members and workers from state companies and public agencies marched to Miraflores from the “4F Mountain Barracks,” where the remains of the late President Hugo Chavez (1999–2013) are interred.
Earlier, the general commander of the Militia, Orlando Romero, expressed support for Maduro and “his swearing-in as president for the 2025–2031 term,” stating that Venezuela is “organized to defend itself” from “all threats,” thanks to the “perfect integration and popular-military-police fusion.”
Arrests of Opposition Members and Activists
Enrique Marquez, an opposition candidate in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential elections, from the Centrados party, was detained on Tuesday by State security agents, according to the anti-Chavista group Voluntad Popular (VP).
On social media, VP described the act as a “kidnapping” and blamed Maduro’s government, accusing it of carrying out a “wave of disappearances of leaders and human rights activists this Tuesday.”
Marquez’s arrest follows the detention earlier on Tuesday of six opposition politicians, as well as the disappearance of activist Carlos Correa and the kidnapping of Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, in Caracas.
The Venezuelan NGO Espacio Público, which defends freedom of expression, the right to information, and social responsibility, reported the disappearance of its executive director, Carlos Correa, who, “according to witnesses, was intercepted in downtown Caracas by alleged hooded officials.”
Correa’s disappearance was also reported by various activists demanding information about his whereabouts.
The majority opposition, grouped in the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), claims electoral fraud and asserts the victory of its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez. They claim to have evidence from 85.18% of the polling station records collected on election day through witnesses and poll watchers deployed across the country’s 30,000+ voting precincts.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
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More on the tense situation in Venezuela from IPS
January 10 will initiate a new six-year presidential term in Venezuela, and it’s expected that Nicolas Maduro will be the one sworn in, marking a third consecutive period in power. Despite much controversy and questioning, the electoral powers in Venezuela proclaimed him the winner of the July 28th election with 53% of the votes against 43% for his principal rival, opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
However, the voting results by precinct for this election were never officially presented, nor were the voting breakdowns by municipality or region. In contrast, the opposition coalition published their official copies of individual tally sheets from 85% of the polling places, showing Gonzalez to be the clear winner with 7,443,584 votes, or 67%, as compared to 3,385,155 for Maduro (30%).
The United States, Canada, several Latin American governments, and the majority of the European countries have recognized Gonzalez as the rightful winner of the election, and hence president-elect. These countries have announced that they will not be sending representatives to Maduro’s inauguration, unlike Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras and Mexico, who have announced that they will send delegations.
Gonzalez – exiled in Spain since September – is visiting several capitals of the Americas this week. He has announced his intention to return to Venezuela to assume the presidency, possibly leaving from the Dominican Republic on January 9th. Several former presidents of the region have offered to accompany Gonzalez on that trip.
The Venezuelan government, however, has stated that if Gonzalez so much as sets one foot in the country, he’ll be arrested and tried for treason and other crimes. Amid this tension, the preparations for Maduro’s inauguration are going forward with a strong presence of police and military security.
Maria Corina Machado, the principal opposition leader, is in hiding, but from her undisclosed location she has called on the population to go out on the streets in protest beginning on the 9th. Maduro’s party has called for their own marches and concentrations.
After Venezuela’s electoral council proclaimed Maduro the winner, the resulting protests were severely repressed. At least 25 people were killed, dozens were injured, and over 2,000 demonstrators were detained, including 150 minors.
Wait wait wait…lets not forget Venezuela’s Cuban buddies propping up Maduro. Cuba plays a role in this nasty dictatorship.
‘In 2019, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton claimed that there were between 20,000 to 25,000 Cuban security forces in Venezuela.
However, Cuban officials have consistently denied the presence of their military in Venezuela, asserting that the approximately 20,000 Cubans in the country are primarily medical workers.”
This is very bad for both the people in that country and the people of Cuba. All people should have the right to be safe from a bad government in my opinion.
Maduro, like the arragant Ortega in 1990 Nicaragua, thought he could never lose with the deck stacked in his favor and his advisors telling him he is very popular. Now he is just a bold-faced election stealing dictator who doesn’t seem to care that most Venezuelans want him out. If might continues to make right he will probably be around for a while, but the future could bring surprises. Let’s hope so for Venezuelans.