Venezuela seeks protest leader's arrest

Venezuela seeks protest leader's arrest
Last updated 16:32 14/02/2014
Reuters
EXIT STRATEGY: Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez says he is drawing
millions of Venezuelans into the streets to protest corruption, crime
and shortages in a nationwide push to bring down President Nicolas
Maduro's government.

Protester killed in anti-government unrest in Venezuela

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A Venezuelan court has ordered the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo
Lopez on charges including murder and terrorism linked to street
protests that resulted in the deaths of three people the day before.

Using a slogan "The Exit," the US-educated Lopez has for two weeks
helped organise sporadic demonstrations around the country to denounce
President Nicolas Maduro for failing to control inflation, crime and
product shortages.

The president accuses him of sowing violence to try to stage a coup
similar to the one 12 years ago that briefly ousted late socialist
leader Hugo Chavez, though there is little indication that the protests
could topple Maduro.

"There you have the face of fascism!" Maduro said in a speech to the
nation on Thursday night, showing photos and video of Lopez at
Wednesday's protest in the capital Caracas, some of the footage set to
doom-laden music.

"I tell these fugitives from justice: give yourselves up! ... They
should go behind bars," Maduro thundered, saying both the intellectual
authors of the violence and those who fired shots had been identified by
authorities.

Despite the government's strong words and a brief visit by police to the
headquarters of his Popular Will political party, Lopez, 42, was not
arrested on Thursday.

Colleagues said he spent the day with advisers at his home in the same
wealthy eastern district of Caracas where he was once mayor. After
Maduro's late-night speech, he took to Twitter and challenged the
president to have him arrested.

"Thanks for all your shows of solidarity. I'm fine. I'm still in
Venezuela and I'll stay in the streets. Strength!" Lopez tweeted.

"NicolasMaduro: don't you have the guts to arrest me? Or are you waiting
for orders from Havana? I tell you, the truth is on our side."

Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, shortly before a court upheld a
request from the Public Prosecutor's Office to order his detention, the
opposition leader blamed armed government supporters for firing on
peaceful protesters.

"The government is playing the violence card, and not for the first
time. They're blaming me without any proof," he said.

'NO MORE BLOOD'

While many Caracas residents stayed home on Thursday, there were
sporadic student protests around the city.

Some groups of demonstrators blocked streets and burned tires. Bands of
motorcyclists roamed the streets. And opposition supporters in the
wealthier suburbs east of the capital banged pots and bans from windows
in a traditional form of anti-government protest in some parts of Latin
America.

"We want solutions to problems, not endless confrontation and violence,"
said student Manuel Armas, 19, outside the Alejandro Humboldt
University, where around 200 protesters waved banners saying "No More
Blood."

Scores of government supporters gathered outside the Public Prosecutor's
Office building that was vandalized on Wednesday, chanting pro-Maduro
slogans and denouncing "fascist violence."

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Coming almost a year after the death of Chavez, the unrest has been the
latest demonstration of the OPEC nation's polarization and the deep
mistrust between both political camps.

Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver and union activist who has
staked his presidency on maintaining Chavez's leftist legacy, said
further protests would not be allowed. Government supporters would march
in Caracas on Saturday, he said.

Wednesday's fatalities were Juan "Juancho" Montoya, a community activist
from a militantly pro-government neighbourhood in the poor west end of
Caracas; Neyder Arellano, a pro-opposition student; and Bassil Dacosta,
who was identified by fellow protesters as a student but by Maduro as a
carpenter.

SCORES ARRESTED

Some 66 people were injured and 70 arrested after Wednesday's violence,
officials said. Some protesters, many with their faces covered, threw
stones and lit fires in the streets.

Bolivia, Cuba and Argentina, three of Venezuela's fellow leftist
political allies in the region, sent messages of support to Maduro's
administration.

"Cuba condemns the coup intentions ... organised by fascist groups," the
statement from Havana read.

The protests have exposed rifts within the opposition leadership, with
some favouring a more moderate approach and saying marches that turn
violent only play into the government's hands as it accuses them of
being "saboteurs."

Sporadic political protests have become common over the last decade, but
they usually fizzle out within days as residents grow tired of blocked
streets and the smell of burning tires.

Opposition moderates note that their biggest successes, such as turning
pro-Chavez strongholds into opposition territory, came from leaders
stepping away from theatrical street protests to focus on daily issues
for voters such as poor services, widespread corruption and one of the
world's worst murder rates.

- Reuters

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/9723472/Venezuela-seeks-protest-leaders-arrest