(TheIndependentStar.com) – Five days after the chaotic presidential elections in Venezuela, fraudulently proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro keeps mass arresting innocent civilians for protesting while relatives have no clue of their whereabouts.
“I haven’t been able to see him. Or give him food. Or hand him his clothes. I don’t know if he has been beaten. I don’t know if he has bathed. Or eaten,” a heartbreaking mother said about her son.
Under anonymity, the mother was desperate since her 28-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter-in-law were arrested and beaten after their family joined a protest march in Caracas.
The day after Sunday’s election, Maduro declared victory, but the opposition cried fraud. They claimed to have evidence from electronic voting machines showing that they, not the government, actually won.
Many international governments also demanded that Maduro prove his win. He has said he will release the vote tallies, but for now, he has not given a timeline for when that will happen.
In addition, opposition leader María Corina Machado (MCM) has called for nationwide protests in Venezuela on Saturday, challenging the election results and Maduro.
She posted on social media that “we must remain firm, organised and mobilised with the pride of having achieved a historic victory on 28 July.” In response, the government announced that Machado should be arrested.
MCM, writing in the Wall Street Journal, revealed that she is in “hiding” and fears for her “life” and “freedom.” Since the disputed election, the Venezuelan government claims to have arrested more than 1,000 people involved in protests.
In Venezuela, the judiciary is controlled by the government. This means that the people detained are not allowed private defenders. Instead, public defenders are part of the state. So, the one who accuses a person is the one who defends them.
In turn, Maduro’s government also accuses opposition leader MCM and presidential candidate Edmundo González of inciting violence by disputing the election results, saying they should be arrested.
He labeled opposition leaders a “perverse and macabre duo who have to take responsibility” for what he calls “criminal” protestors. Maduro denies electoral fraud and accuses the opposition of attempting a “coup.”
Despite growing detentions, many Venezuelans are determined to keep protesting, although fear deters some.
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