What Happened Last Week In Venezuela? 🚨The Mayor of Maracaibo Was Arrested
The mayor of Maracaibo was arrested, the Carter Center at the OAS and Chevron's license was renewed.
The dismantling of the Maracaibo mayor's office (and the tallies at the OAS)
The opposition mayor of Maracaibo, Rafael Ramírez Colina, was arrested by agents of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) last Tuesday. Along with Ramírez, they also arrested the director of the Maracaibo Mayor’s Office, Betty Ramos, the Secretary of Citizen Security, David Barroso, another official who was not identified, and two bodyguards. Later, the SEBIN arrested the director of Human Talent of the Mayor’s Office, Diana Patricia Berríos, after she appointed Vanessa Linares de Ramírez –wife of the mayor in the second most important city in the country– as general director of the municipality. According to the Public Ministry, the arrests are due to “allegations of corruption” in the mayoralty. Opposition leader María Corina Machado said that they were part of a “wave of terror.” The detainees were sentenced to imprisonment according to Linares de Ramírez.
Machado, Edmundo González, and the Unitary Platform (PUD) also reject the call by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, for a “day of dialogue” to review electoral laws because it is not a previously agreed process and it is “without rules, without a secure location.” They call on the government to “agree on terms for a serious negotiation” for “the transition.” Chavismo, however, carried out the process with parties such as Fuerza Vecinal.
During the week, the Carter Center also presented some “original” tallies, compiled by polling stations witnesses, at the OAS. In turn, the Macedonia del Norte citizen platform has compiled the video evidence of 900 polling stations that support the victory of the opposition presidential candidate. Through his Instagram account, Giuseppe Gangi –the creator of the platform– explained that the videos come from 23 states of the country, 106 municipalities and 165 Venezuelan parishes and asserted that work is being done so that his web portal has 1000 videos that confirm the results of the minutes compiled by the opposition.
For his part, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said in his country's Senate that "there are serious doubts about legitimacy and legality that must be dispelled (...) we will not recognize the results [of Venezuela] until these doubts are dispelled."
In Madrid, González held a meeting with CNE board member Juan Carlos Delpino, who was not present when the results were announced. Delpino previously questioned in a statement whether a cyber-attack on the electoral system had occurred as the Venezuelan government claims. Machado also clarified that she is not leaving Venezuela despite “threats.”
Chevron's license renewed
The United States Department of the Treasury renewed until April 2025 the general license number 41 with which the oil company Chevron has permits to carry out operations in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, according to the database collected by the consulting firm Ecoanalítica, between February and August of this year, payments in bolivars increased by an average of 16.2%: going from 55% of the total in February 2024 to 71% in August of the same year. Payments by point of sale correspond to 52% of the total, followed by mobile payment with 33%, Biopago 11% and only 4% in cash.
No more parole
The Biden administration will not expand the legal status of tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who were allowed to fly to the United States under the humanitarian parole program, according to officials and internal documents reviewed by CBS. The program had already been halted in August over allegations of fraud. As many as 117,000 Venezuelans could find themselves in legal limbo.
It is not a country of human rights
Seven minors detained during the post-electoral protests, including a 16-year-old girl who reported attempted sexual abuse by officials, recorded a video admitting being guilty "after several days of being beaten, so much so that some lost teeth. Another has burnt nipples because they used electricity on him," according to an investigation by El Carabobeño. Relatives of detained and prosecuted minors have protested in recent days. In Caracas, pensioners and retirees also protested.
Tax agency SENIAT also closed the newspaper La Voz for six months: from Thursday, October 3, until May 3, 2025. With the closure, at least 50 direct workers will be left unemployed. La Voz, from Altos Mirandinos, is one of the few remaining printed newspapers in Venezuela and has circulated for 58 years in the 21 municipalities of Miranda state.
Something less dark: at least 1.8 million Venezuelans in 298 municipalities have benefited this year from the humanitarian response of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Minors are the majority of those benefiting, and the agency's target population is 5.1 million Venezuelans this year.
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Caracas Chronicles’ Local Dispatch features selected stories from local journalists and media organizations who are reporting news from deep inside Venezuela. The second issue features the tragedy of pensioners, “WhatsApp crimes” and Sucre’s cocoa problem.