Venezuelan protesters engineer improvised barricades

Venezuelan protesters engineer improvised barricades
By Mariano Castillo, CNN
February 26, 2014 -- Updated 0245 GMT (1045 HKT)

There are a lot of things you can use to make a street barricade.
Anti-government protesters in Venezuela are not short of imagination
when it comes to blocking streets in cities across the country, even as
the President calls for dialogue.
"It is not just students who are protesting against the government of
President (Nicolas) Maduro," Noemy Becerra, a resident of the city of
Valencia, told CNN's iReport, referring to what had begun weeks ago as a
youth movement. "These are neighbors in protest, with burning objects,
debris and pot-banging included."
Photos: Protests erupt in Venezuela
Maduro has called for a peace conference on Wednesday, inviting mayors,
governors and leading lawmakers to sign a deal renouncing violence.
The outcome of those talks was uncertain, as protesters blame the
government itself for the violence that has claimed 13 lives.
The barricades -- on streets of major cities such as Caracas, Valencia,
Maracaibo and San Cristobal -- are not just a form of protest, but an
attempt to protect residents from what they say is an abusive National
Guard force.
In Valencia on Monday, a young woman suffered a brutal attack where she
appeared to be struck repeatedly by a female member of the National
Guard using her helmet.
The hard-to-watch scene, which has gone viral on social media, was
captured by a photographer from the local newspaper, the Carabobeño.
One photo shows the servicewoman straddling a female protester on the
ground at chest level while unhooking her helmet. The next shot shows
what appears to be the military woman delivering a glancing blow to the
protester.
CNN could not independently confirm the incident, but a video posted on
YouTube appeared to show the same scene, where the blows allegedly being
levied by the servicewoman can be seen.
CNN reached out to state authorities to comment about the incident, but
had not received a response.
The blowback on social media was intense -- people claimed they
identified the servicewoman, and posted her name, Facebook profile and
even address on the Internet.
The barricades are slowing life in the streets.
"Valencia is completely paralyzed!" resident Carmen Teresa Peña told CNN
iReport. "We need to be heard, and there is no Venezuelan media that
will broadcast what is happening."
In the capital, barricades also became focal points of the protests.
With tensions running high, some turned to humor, even at the blockades.
One sign posted at a Caracas barricade was made to look like a
men-at-work sign: "Stop! Stop! Excuse the mess. We are working for
Venezuela."
March in the capital
The largest protest on Tuesday was a student-led march to the Cuban
Embassy. The Venezuelan opposition accuses the communist Cuban
government of interfering in Venezuelan affairs and infiltrating their
military.
The Cuban Embassy in Caracas was the site of a protest march in 2002,
when the late President Hugo Chavez was briefly ousted from office. That
protest -- where opposition figures entered embassy grounds -- remains
one of the most controversial from that tense time.
Washington expels diplomats
Also Tuesday, the United States announced it is expelling three
Venezuelan diplomats in a tit-for-tat following the expulsion of three
U.S. diplomats from that country, the State Department said.
Venezuela expelled the U.S. officials earlier this month in connection
with accusations that the United States is behind the protests in
Venezuela in an attempt to destabilize the government. The United States
has denied the allegations.
Venezuelan Embassy First Secretary Ignacio Luis Cajal Avalos, First
Secretary Victor Manuel Pisani Azpurua and Second Secretary Marcos Jose
Garcia Figueredo were declared personae non gratae.
They have 24 hours to leave the United States.
As tensions inside Venezuela intensify, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey,
told CNN Tuesday that the United States should weigh stepping up efforts
to condemn the violence by revoking visas or freezing bank accounts.
The imprisonment of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, Menendez said, "is
one example that, in fact, we should be considering targeted sanctions
against those in the Maduro government who are using violence. ... Those
are strong messages that are not interventionist, but are about human
rights and democracy."

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