Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raided the building of the opposition-controlled National Assembly (pictured) on 5 July. Later in the week the opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was released from prison and placed under house arrest.
In the incident, armed Maduro supporters entered the National Assembly in an attempt to intimidate lawmakers after members of the National Guard failed to stop the attack. Cardinal Jorge Urosa, the Archbishop of Caracas, denounced the raid, saying that dialogue is the only way to resolve the disagreements between the Maduro Government and its opponents. The Maduro Government “has committed a grave error in failing to fulfill its responsibility to protect the people”, he added.
Cardinal Urosa said, “I express my solidarity with the victims of the violent repression, in particular in this attack on the National Assembly. As Archbishop of Caracas, I lift my words to God so that we Venezuelans can resolve our conflicts in a peaceful manner.”
One of the opposition’s primary demands is the release of political prisoners, so Lopez’s release from jail on 9 July was a rare sign of good faith from the government. He will remain under house arrest for charges of instigating violent protests in 2014. Lopez had served three years and five months of a 14-year sentence. He was released on humanitarian grounds, due to health problems he had while imprisoned.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raided the building of the opposition-controlled National Assembly (pictured) on 5 July. Later in the week the opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was released from prison and placed under house arrest.
In the incident, armed Maduro supporters entered the National Assembly in an attempt to intimidate lawmakers after members of the National Guard failed to stop the attack. Cardinal Jorge Urosa, the Archbishop of Caracas, denounced the raid, saying that dialogue is the only way to resolve the disagreements between the Maduro Government and its opponents. The Maduro Government “has committed a grave error in failing to fulfill its responsibility to protect the people”, he added.
Cardinal Urosa said, “I express my solidarity with the victims of the violent repression, in particular in this attack on the National Assembly. As Archbishop of Caracas, I lift my words to God so that we Venezuelans can resolve our conflicts in a peaceful manner.”
One of the opposition’s primary demands is the release of political prisoners, so Lopez’s release from jail on 9 July was a rare sign of good faith from the government. He will remain under house arrest for charges of instigating violent protests in 2014. Lopez had served three years and five months of a 14-year sentence. He was released on humanitarian grounds, due to health problems he had while imprisoned.
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