Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is cracking down on opposition to his government ahead of elections that are scheduled to be held this year but which still have no date. During rallies to mark ‘Democracy Day’, the sixty-sixth anniversary of the overthrow of the Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1952-1958) on 23 January, Maduro presented his own authoritarian credentials. Four regional leaders of Vente Venezuela (VV), the party of the presidential aspirant of the opposition coalition Plataforma Unitaria Democrática (PUD), María Corina Machado, were arbitrarily arrested. At least 33 opposition politicians, civil society representatives, former members of the military, and journalists have been arrested this week. Meanwhile, 10 regional campaign headquarters of VV were vandalised, with ‘Bolivarian Fury’, Maduro’s new plan to “restore peace” to Venezuela, daubed on the walls.End of preview - This article contains approximately 1100 words.
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