Venezuelan law enforcement agents during the arrest of union activist Victor Venegas in Barinas state. Photo: Tal Cual.
Attorney General of Venezuela Tarek William Saab reported, via social media, the arrest of a union activist in Barinas state named VĂctor Venegas. Venegas was allegedly involved in conspiracies threaten the peace of the country and the lives of senior officials.
Venegas is the president of the local branch of the National Federation of Unions and Colleges of Education Workers of Venezuela (FENATEV) and was singled out for his alleged link with one of four conspiracies that President Nicolás Maduro mentioned in his address last Monday before the National Assembly (AN).
The union activist is also a member of the Vente Venezuela party and promotes the presidential candidacy of MarĂa Corina Machado in Barinas state. His beginnings in party organizations occurred within Un Nuevo Tiempo, a party that he helped strengthen for more than 15 years and that was derived from the Democratic Action party (AD).
Eduardo Torres, a lawyer for the NGO PROVEA, funded by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), condemned the “chronic abuse of terrorism legislation to criminalize those who fight… This must stop… The revolving door must stop,” he said in reference to the mainstream narrative on the liberation of jailed politicians followed by new detentions by Venezuelan authorities.
Local media in Barinas state reported that Venegas participated, last Monday, January 15, in a protest in Barinas city that ended up with two policewomen injured after a group led by the union activist broke a police picket.
Washington and its local operatives have been unsuccessfully trying for months to heat up the streets of Venezuela and create violence in an attempt to relaunch its derailed “regime”-change operation against Nicolas Maduro. This time, they are using as a pretext the legitimate discontent of some public workers with the minimum wage. President Maduro announced on Monday an increase of 66% in the special indexed bonuses that public workers receive monthly.
Attorney General Tareck William Saab wrote on social media that Venegas belongs to a group that intended to turn the Barinas state into the epicenter of violent actions.
Below is the full unofficial translation of the statement:
The Public Ministry informs the public that due to the most recent conspiracy revealed against the Venezuelan people, citizen VĂctor Venegas has been detained to be prosecuted before the competent authorities.
Said citizen is involved in activities against the peace of the Republic and was part of a group that sought to turn the state of Barinas into the epicenter of violent actions.
Now that the plan has been revealed, this group is in the process of being dismantled.
The Public Ministry continues to work in defense of peaceful coexistence, the debate of ideas, and the defense of democracy, always within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic.
Caracas, January 17, 2024.
Tarek William Saab
Attorney General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
