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Venezuela’s Guaido calls for nationwide march on Caracas
CARACAS, March 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan
Guaido on Saturday announced a nationwide march on Caracas as thousands of
people took to the capital’s streets to crank up the pressure on beleaguered
President Nicolas Maduro.
Brandishing a loud speaker, Guaido told thousands of supporters he would
embark on a tour of the country before leading a nationwide march on the
capital.
“Once we’ve finished the tour, the organization in every state, we’ll
announce the date when all together we’ll come to Caracas,” said the 35-year-
old leader of the legislature, who is recognized as interim president by more
than 50 countries.
“Miraflores, Miraflores!” chanted Guaido’s supporters in response, a
reference to the presidential palace currently occupied by Maduro.
Guaido threatened to call on outside intervention “when the time comes,”
pointing to the constitution, which authorizes “the use of a Venezuelan
military mission abroad, or foreigners inside the country.”
“Intervention, intervention!” cried his supporters.
“All the options are on the table,” added the National Assembly president,
using a phrase employed by US President Donald Trump, who has consistently
refused to rule out a military intervention in Venezuela.
– ‘We will never surrender’ –
Guaido was speaking from the back of a pick-up truck after security
services prevented the opposition from setting up a stage at their original
protest site, arresting three people. Some 20 armored anti-riot vehicles were
stationed on a highway that leads to the main avenue in the east of Caracas,
where the opposition march was due to take place.
Guaido is trying to force out Maduro — whose May re-election he deems
illegitimate — in order to set up new polls.
Maduro also called out his supporters to protest against “imperialism” in
a march that marks four years since the United States branded Venezuela a
“threat” to its security and imposed sanctions.
“Today, more than ever, we’re anti-imperialists. We will never surrender!”
Maduro wrote on Twitter.
The mounting political pressure comes as authorities struggled to restore
power following a major electricity outage that began on Thursday afternoon.
Maduro told supporters that almost 70 percent of power had been restored
but at midday there was another cyber “attack at one of the generators that
was working perfectly and that disturbed and undid everything we had
achieved.”
Although Caracas and the states of Miranda and Vargas — home to the
country’s international airport and main port — had intermittent power, the
western regions of Barinas, Tachira and Zulia remained without electricity.
MORE/MSY/0950 hrs
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It was one of the worst and longest blackouts in recent memory in
Venezuela and paralyzed most of the country.
Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez blamed it on a cyber attack
against the automated control system in the central generator at the Guri
hydroelectric plant in the country’s south, which serves 80 percent of
Venezuela.
Hospitals had reported terrible problems and those with generators were
using them only in emergencies, while flights were canceled, leaving hundreds
of travelers stranded at airports.
The Caracas subway, which transports two million people a day, remained
suspended and shops were closed.
“The problem is food, I’d bought meat and it’s going bad. I’m going to the
march because we need change. We’re fed up,” Luis Alvarez, a 51-year-old
truck driver, told AFP.
– ‘I share the despair’ –
Venezuela has suffered more than four years of recession that has seen
poverty soar as citizens struggle with food and medicine shortages.
Problems have been exacerbated by hyperinflation the International
Monetary Fund says will reach 10 million percent this year.
An estimated 2.7 million people have left the country since 2015.
“I share the feeling of despair, I have lost relatives due to the lack of
medicine,” said Guaido, who told supporters that “there’s no other option to
get out of this without street mobilization.”
During the blackout, witnesses described scenes of chaos at several
hospitals as people tried to move sick relatives in the dark to clinics with
better emergency power facilities.
Ecuador’s foreign ministry issued a statement claiming 79 Venezuelans had
died as a result of the power cut, which Rodriguez denied.
Critics blame the government for failing to invest in maintaining the
electrical grid, although authorities often points the finger at external
factors when the lights go out.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0950 hrs