Voting went ahead on Sunday, with Juan Guiadó, the ‘pretender’ to the presidency of Venezuela – ‘recognised by numerous foreign powers, including Portugal and the EU – barred from entry. Portugal has since registered its “great concern” over the events that took place in Venezuela over the weekend. Said reports here, the voting into power of Luís Parra involved “the support of a minority of opposition parliamentarians suspected of corruption”.
Ends for brief
Elsewhere, the Irish Times explained that after the vote, Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro “took to state television to mock Mr Guiadó, claiming he had been deposed by the votes of his own opposition colleagues”.
As things worked out, Guiadó and his supporters later decamped to a newspaper office, where they held their own elections. But the confidence of Nicolás Maduro in the face of such international criticism suggests he remains in no mood to step aside.
Backed by Cuba and Russia, Maduro has reportedly been using “diplomatic breathing space gained by engaging in on-again off-again talks hosted by Norway to crack down on his domestic opponents” writes IT.
“Opposition politicians have been arrested and independent media harassed in a campaign of intimidation that has placed Mr Guaidó and his supporters on the defensive”.
Back in July, a report compiled by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said regime death squads linked to thousands of killings in Venezuela in recent years were engaged in a campaign aimed at “neutralising” government opponents.
