The General Secretary of the OAS asked the Venezuelan government to cease “the infringement of the rights of the people”.
Washington.- The General Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, condemned today the “violent repression and death of Venezuelans” in the opposition marches that took place throughout the country.
“We condemn the violent repression and death of Venezuelans today #19Abr. The violation of human rights must stop”, wrote Almagro on his Twitter account, without giving further details.
A 17 year old was shot today with a bullet to the head while he was around one of the opposition gathering places in the center of Caracas, and he died at the clinic to which he was admitted, according to confirmations by the Public Ministry, noted Efe.
Additionaly, a 23 year old woman died in the state of Táchira, bordering with Colombia, near an anti-government protest that turned violent, according to witnesses that informed Efe, although the circumstances of the event have not been clarified by the authorities. ~~ The Prosecution also reported two people hurt during the anti-government protests in Caracas; a woman was hit by “a blunt object to the head” and a man was shot with pellets.
President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced today that over 20 alleged “violent terrorists” were detained, which he related to an opposition plan to ”take over power”.
Vice-minister for North America, Samuel Moncada, blamed USA, Almagro and a wide variety of OAS countries for “stimulating violence” within the country.
“This place (the OAS) is being used as a command center to stimulate violence in Venezuela, and the secretary general and other countries are part of the conspiracy”, stated Moncada, who is the ambassador for Venezuela in the OAS.
Moncada made these statements during a press release called while the opposition and the government of Nicolás Maduro both carry out parallel marches.
The opposition marches that have been occuring for the past three weeks, to which the government has retaliated with marches of their own, has resulted in at least 8 deaths, including a police officer, dozens of injured and over 500 detained, of which over 200 are still deprived of their freedome, according to statistics from the opposition.
Moncada stated today during a OAS council meeting that “a good portion of the violence occuring in Venezuela is product” of a resolution unanimously adopted within the organization on April 3rd, that says that in Venezuela there is a “grave, unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order”, a resolution that the Venezuelan government deems “illegal”.
