Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday excoriated opposition protesters for setting a man on fire during a demonstration, accusing them of targeting him for being pro-government.
“A person was set on fire, beaten up, stabbed... They nearly lynched him, just because he shouted out that he was a ‘Chavista,’” Maduro said, referring to the ruling socialist movement set up by his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
Witnesses to the incident on Saturday afternoon, including a Reuters photographer, said the crowd had accused the man of being a thief.
Photo: AFP
About 100 people, who had been participating in anti-Maduro protests, surrounded him, doused him in gasoline and set him alight in Plaza Altamira in east Caracas, the witnesses said.
Though some in the crowd said he should die, others helped him and the man survived.
Showing a video of the incident on state TV, Maduro identified the man as Orlando Figuera, 21, saying he was being treated in hospital for severe burns.
Images from the scene showed him running near-naked with flames on his back.
“Burning a person because he seems a Chavista is a hate crime and a crime against humanity,” Maduro said on his weekly TV program, also showing another video of someone being beaten up, as well as images of protesters throwing Molotov cocktails.
The 54-year-old president says protesters are seeking a violent coup against him with the US’ help and are increasingly persecuting “Chavistas” at home and abroad.
Earlier this week, he compared it to the Nazi treatment of Jews.
“Venezuela is facing ... a coup movement that has turned into hatred and intolerance, very similar to Nazi fascism,” he reiterated on Sunday.
The Venezuelan opposition says Maduro has become a dictator, wrecked the OPEC nation’s economy, caused desperation by thwarting an electoral exit to the political crisis, and unleashed repression and torture on protesters.
“Maduro, Murderer,” can be seen daubed on roads and walls in many parts of Caracas.
The main demand of opponents, who now have majority support after years in the shadow of the ruling Socialist Party, is for a national vote.
However, authorities blocked an opposition push for a referendum last year, delayed state elections and are resisting calls to bring forward the next presidential election scheduled for late 2019.
Most opposition marches are now turning violent when security forces block their way, with masked youths from a self-styled “Resistance” movement hurling stones and gasoline bombs at lines of National Guard troops who use teargas and water cannons to turn them back.
In six weeks of anti-Maduro unrest, at least 47 people have died, including supporters of both sides, some bystanders, and members of the security forces.
Both sides quickly publicize and condemn violence from the other side, while often underplaying wrongdoing within their own ranks.
The government is particularly upset at harassment of officials and their relatives, accused by foes of enjoying the fruits of corruption.
One recent video showed the daughter of Jorge Rodriguez, a powerful Caracas mayor, walking along an Australian beach being screamed at by two bystanders: “Thanks to your father, people are dying in Venezuela.”
Another video appears to show a former minister sitting at a bakery in Doral, Florida — heavily populated with anti-government Venezuelan emigrants — being harangued by other customers, who chant “Get Out” and force him to leave.
A Twitter feed is even available that lists government supporters abroad, with photographs of them and their friends, places of employment and study.
The issue has divided opposition supporters, many delighting in seeing “Chavistas” squirm while others say it is wrong.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
RSS