‘Too much oppression’: Venezuela prepares for Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration Nicolas Maduro News

Bogota Colombia – Jesus Medina Azain had already spent 16 months in a Venezuelan military prison, accused of crimes that were related to his work as a photojournalist.

But another prison sentence seemed imminent, especially as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro seeks re-election.

With Maduro about to be sworn in for a third term, Medina, 43, made a difficult decision: flee his home in Venezuela for the relative safety of Bogotá, the capital of neighboring Colombia.

“Before they put me back in jail, I decided to escape,” Medina said.

Maduro’s government has long faced criticism for alleged repression of political rivals. But Friday’s inauguration ceremony is set to bring to the fore the recent election crisis, with observers warning that violence could escalate as Maduro attempts to seize power.

“The regime is going to do everything possible to ensure that Maduro can be reelected and can continue his administration,” said Juan Papier, deputy director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch.

“If they see that possibility challenged in any way, for example through (opposition-led) demonstrations, then they are going to suppress them brutally.”

atmosphere of fear

Medina recalls his final months in Venezuela as being drenched in fear.

In the lead up to the controversial election, he joined the campaign of opposition leader María Corina Machado as a photographer, documenting her efforts to garner support for presidential candidate Edmundo González.

But that work once again made him a target.

Medina was no stranger to the Maduro government: in 2018, he was arrested on charges of money laundering, criminal collaboration and incitement to hatred, all of which he denies.

Instead, he says his arrest was in retaliation for his reporting on human rights abuses. He was held without trial in Remo Verde military prison as of January 2020.

“The Venezuelan regime does not tolerate any comment or information against itself,” he said.

“The media is scared,” Medina said. “Freedom of expression has been completely lost in Venezuela because journalists inside Venezuela are doing everything possible to avoid imprisonment.”

But the presidential elections held on July 28, 2024, brought worse political repression to Medina than had ever been seen before.

Hours after voting closed, the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner, without offering its usual details of polling numbers.

Meanwhile, the opposition published receipts of votes showing that González had won the election with almost 70 percent of the vote. As soon as protests over alleged election fraud began, government action began.

As state forces swept through the streets, seizing dissidents from their homes, Medina said he was informed he would be jailed again.

He quickly hid. Medina spent two months hiding in various locations in the capital, Caracas, trying to avoid arrest. He said that the country’s intelligence forces have already knocked on the door of his house in the city.

Feeling betrayed, Medina decided to flee to Bogotá on September 15, where he has lived ever since.

wave of repression

According to government figures, 2,500 people were ultimately detained in the post-election protests.

Another 25 people were killed in what independent UN investigators called “unprecedented levels of violence”.

A UN fact-finding mission announced earlier this month that at least 56 political opposition activists, 10 journalists and a human rights defender were among those arrested between August and December.

On Tuesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also published a report alleging that systematic state repression was aimed at “preventing the political participation of the opposition” and “instilling terror among civilians.”

But in the lead up to Friday’s inauguration, more than 1,500 prisoners detained after the election have been released, in what critics say could be an effort to reduce scrutiny on the government’s human rights record.

Alfredo Romero, director of Foro Penal, a Venezuelan human rights monitoring organization, reported that “keeping many innocent youths at the door of prisons, along with their relatives, especially their mothers” was reflecting poorly on the Maduro administration.

Rights groups have also questioned the accuracy of the government’s numbers.

Romero said at least 1,749 prisoners were in custody as of the first week of January, and more alleged dissidents have been detained since then.

“People may be released from jail, but that doesn’t mean new people won’t be sent to jail,” he said.

opening response

Despite widespread fears over repression, demonstrations are expected on Maduro’s third inauguration day.

Gonzalez, the opposition presidential candidate, has also promised to return to Venezuela from his exile abroad and be sworn in on Friday. It is unclear how he or she will follow through on that pledge.

In a video message posted on social media on Sunday, Machado, who has been in hiding in Venezuela for months, called on Venezuelans to march in support of the regime change this week.

“Maduro is not going on his own, we have to leave him with the strength of a population that never gives up,” Machado said. “It is time to stand firm and make them understand that this is their limit. It’s over.”

In turn, the Maduro government has increased security and deployed more than 1,200 military personnel to cities across the country to “guarantee peace” on Inauguration Day.

According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, the government has also detained more than 12 human rights defenders, political activists and relatives of opposition figures in recent days.

Gonzalez’s son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, was reportedly among those detained: the presidential candidate said Tudares was kidnapped by masked men in Caracas on Tuesday.

And on Thursday, Machado himself was detained as he left an anti-Maduro protest, according to opposition officials who said his transport was fired upon. He was immediately released.

odd Future

The recent arrests have sparked a new round of international condemnation.

The United States Embassy in Venezuela described the detention of Gonzalez’s son-in-law as an act of “intimidation” against the opposition. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said the arrests prevented him from attending Maduro’s inauguration ceremony on Friday.

Nevertheless, Maduro’s control over state institutions has allowed security forces to act with impunity, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Medina himself believes that if Maduro remains in power for a third term, repression in Venezuela could increase.

Medina said, “If we don’t get independence there will be even more oppression.” “They will try to eliminate everything they consider opposition, including political leaders and the media.”

For now, he said he hopes to continue his work exposing human rights abuses abroad.

“What I have decided is that, no matter what, I will fight for my country.”