A group of agents from Venezuela’s military counter-intelligence (DGCIM) arrested on Tuesday evening, the night in Italy, the political activist Maria Oropeza, director of the opposition’s electoral campaign in the state of Portuguesa. The news had particular repercussions because it was broadcast live by Oropeza herself, who had started a video link from her Instagram profile shortly before. In the video, the activist is heard asking the security forces present at the gate of her building to produce a search warrant, without success. Having forced the door with repeated blows, four agents – two women with Dgcim caps, one hooded and one with a long weapon – go up the stairs and reach the manager, taking away her cell phone, inviting her to “collaborate” without providing any explanation or showing judicial mandate. Oropeza, an esteemed figure in the ranks of the anti-government front, has in recent days paid very high attention to the repression of the protests called for the proclamation of Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the presidential elections at the end of July, going so far, on August 5, to denounce the death of a protester, Angel Mora, in a hospital where he was hospitalized following beatings suffered by police officers.
???OPPOSITION REPORTS ARREST OF VENEZULEAN LEADER MARÍA OROPEZA
A video has emerged allegedly showing María Oropeza, head of the ConVenezuela Command in Portuguesa, being arrested by security forces.
The footage has sparked immediate concern and condemnation from opposition… pic.twitter.com/0CJwt1758j
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 7, 2024
The video of the arrest was relaunched in the form of a public complaint by hundreds of profiles of activists, politicians and representatives of human rights organizations, starting with that of the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, who had immediately invited Oropeza’s neighbors to come to the manager’s aid. The secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, also spoke on the case. “The arrest of Maria Oropeza joins the file of reports of crimes against humanity by the Maduro regime, with over a thousand arrests, the result of political persecution. This repressive irrationality must be stopped now.” For days, the president has been announcing a crackdown on activists and political officials accused of being part of a “subversive” plot, promising to soon build two maximum security prisons ready to accommodate around two thousand “terrorists”. The non-governmental organization Foro Penal, which collects and verifies complaints, reports that over 1.100 arrests have been made, including around a hundred teenagers.
https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/Venezuelan-regional-opposition-leader-arrested-live-on-video/
