<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div id="container" class="container font-size5 content-width3">
<div id="reader-header" class="header" style="display: block;"
dir="ltr"> <font size="-2"><a id="reader-domain" class="domain"
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13276">https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13276</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">Venezuela: 10 Dead, 200 Voting Centers
Attacked as US Sanctions Maduro</h1>
<div id="reader-credits" class="credits">By Lucas Koerner -
August 1, 2017<br>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div id="moz-reader-content" class="line-height4" dir="ltr"
style="display: block;">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div class="content-text">
<div class="content-text-inner">
<p>Philadelphia, July 31, 2017 (<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuelanalysis.com"><span>venezuelanalysis.com</span></a>)
– The U.S. government slapped sanctions on Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro one day after the South
American country saw record turnout in National
Constituent Assembly (ANC) elections amid deadly
opposition violence. </p>
<p>On Monday, the US Treasury Department <a
href="https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0137.aspx">labeled</a>
the elected Venezuelan leader a “dictator” and froze
his alleged assets in the United States. The measure
was legally authorized under <a
href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=109730">Executive
Order 13692</a>, which was signed by President
Barack Obama in 2015 and brands Venezuela an “unusual
and extraordinary threat” to US national security. </p>
<p>For his part, Maduro fired back at the White House,
calling the move an “expression of impotence [and]
desperation”. </p>
<p>“They [the US] see Latin America as a lapdog that
wags its tail and nods yes. It’s an irate reaction
because the Venezuelan people and its president
disobeyed [the US’] order to suspend the National
Constituent Assembly,” he declared. </p>
<p>“I don’t obey imperial orders and moreover [I am]
against US imperialism,” the head of state continued.</p>
<p><strong>Mixed reactions</strong></p>
<p>The sanctions come on the heels of ANC elections that
saw <a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13275">8,089,4320</a>
Venezuelans turn out to vote, a figure that surpasses
the 7,587,579 votes Maduro received in his narrow 2013
election victory. </p>
<p>In the lead-up to the elections, Washington <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13264">sanctioned</a>
13 top Venezuelan officials and threatened “strong and
swift economic actions” if the <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13260">initiative
to redraft Venezuela’s constitution</a> went ahead. </p>
<p>Despite the high turnout, the US State Department has
refused to recognize election and several close US
allies have followed suit, including Canada, Spain,
the UK, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Panama.
The European Union similarly expressed “grave doubts
as to whether the election result can be recognized”.</p>
<p>For its part, Russia dismissed the international
chorus rejecting the result as “destructive”. </p>
<p>"We hope that those members of the international
community who want to reject the results of the
Venezuelan elections and increase the economic
pressure on Caracas, show restraint and renounce these
destructive plans that can sharpen the polarization of
Venezuelan society,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said
in a statement.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, regional leftist governments, including
Bolivia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, congratulated
Venezuela on the successful election. </p>
<p>In particular, Bolivian President Evo Morales hit out
at Mexico and Colombia, whom he said would do well to
“have their own constituent assembly… to change their
capitalist system, their imperialist system”. </p>
<p>Within Venezuela, the result sparked condemnation
from the country’s right-wing opposition coalition,
the MUD, as well as Attorney General Luisa Ortega. </p>
<p>The MUD, which boycotted the elections despite
repeated overtures from the government to participate,
has raised allegations of voter fraud, but has yet to
provide evidence to back its claims.</p>
<p>“We do not recognize this fraudulent process, for us
it is null and void,” declared Miranda Governor
Henrique Capriles. As the MUD candidate against Maduro
in 2013 presidential elections, Capriles refused to
recognize his narrow defeat, calling on his supporters
to “vent their anger” in the streets. Eleven people
were killed in the ensuing post-election violence. </p>
<p>International electoral observers, for their part,
reported that the electoral process was transparent.</p>
<p>“[Venezuelans] have concurred in a civic and peaceful
manner to exercise their right to vote in a free,
universal, direct, and secret election as expressed in
Article 63 of the Bolivarian Constitution,” stated the
Council of Electoral Specialists of Latin America,
which is composed of ex-presidents and electoral
monitoring officials from throughout the region.</p>
<p>Venezuela’s National Electoral Council announced the
preliminary results on Sunday evening, but it has yet
to release the state-by-state vote breakdown as well
as the full list of candidates elected. On Monday, the
electoral body was the target of a cyber attack by
opposition hackers that shut down its website for a
number of hours, together with that of Venezuela’s
state television network.</p>
<p><strong>Violent unrest claims 10 lives</strong><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Sunday’s vote was rocked by deadly anti-government
violence aimed at preventing the election from taking
place. </p>
<p>On the eve of the vote, an ANC candidate for the
communes sector was assassinated in Bolivar state.
Children’s rights activist and community organizer
Felix Pineda Marcano (39) was gunned down in his home
in Ciudad Bolivar on Saturday evening. Authorities are
actively investigating the murder, which they believe
could be politically motivated. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, over the course of the day, 200 voting
stations were besieged by opposition militants across
the country, according to Defense Minister Vladimir
Padrino Lopez.</p>
<p>In Tachira state, National Guard Second Sergeant
Ronald Ramirez was shot in the head and killed near a
military installation in La Grita. </p>
<p>The Public Prosecution (MP) has reported 9 other
deaths over the course of the day’s events.</p>
<p>In addition to Ramirez, two unnamed adolescents and a
third man by the name of Jose Cardenas were killed in
Tachira state. In Merida, Angelo Mendez and Eduardo
Olave were killed in the early hours of the morning
before voting began, while Jose Sanchez also lost his
life under unknown circumstances. </p>
<p>In Lara state, Luis Zambrano (43) was reportedly shot
dead in an anti-government protest in Barquisimeto.
Elsewhere in Sucre state, the MP confirmed the death
of Democratic Action youth leader Ricardo Campos
during an opposition protest in the early hours of the
morning. </p>
<p>A man by the name of Haidar Ocando was likewise
killed in Zulia state, though no further details are
yet known concerning the cause of death. The MP has
dispatched state district attorneys to investigate all
of the fatalities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the heavily pro-opposition Altamira
neighborhood of eastern Caracas was the scene of
another roadside bomb attack targeting a Bolivarian
National Police motorcycle caravan. </p>
<p>As captured on camera, the police motorcyclists are
seen driving down Francisco de Miranda Avenue when
suddenly a bomb goes off, producing a giant explosion
as onlookers cheer.</p>
<p>Eight officers were injured in the blast with first,
second, and third degree burns. The Public Prosecution
is investigating. </p>
<p>The incident marks the second time in a month that
large-scale explosive devices has been used in the
wealthy eastern Caracas municipality of Chacao. On
July 10, seven National Guard officials were injured
in a similar <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13229">remote-detonated
explosion</a>.</p>
<p>In total, the Interior Ministry has reported that 21
state security personnel suffered gunshot wounds over
the course of the day. Forty-nine people were arrested
for attacks on military personnel on Sunday. </p>
<p class="published">Published on Aug 1st 2017 at 1.09am
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>