Venezuela prepares for the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro this Friday, January 10 in a climate of strong tension due to the events that have occurred in recent days. The anti-Chavista leader, María Corina Machado, has reiterated her call to “all of Venezuela” to participate in the protest called for this Thursday, one day before said inauguration to which both the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia – whose victory he claims – and President Nicolás Maduro assures that they will attend to be sworn in as head of state for the period 2025-2031.
“We all know this is over (…), now it’s time to complete the task and each one has their part, like an orchestra. Tomorrow (Thursday) we will meet in towns and cities throughout Venezuela (…) and in hundreds of cities around the world,” said the former deputy in a video published on her social networks.
Machado, who confirmed on Tuesday that he will come out of hiding and attend the demonstration, said that “The time has come” for the “longed-for” reunion and he asked Venezuelans for “serenity and firmness” in the claim of victory that González Urrutia assures.
“We are a country that has three colors and that wants its three colors unitedTherefore, those of you who are forced to go out with a red t-shirt tomorrow, I tell you, go out and come with us, let’s celebrate together,” said the opponent.
The Government of Venezuela detains Enrique Márquez and accuses him of planning a “coup d’état”
Meanwhile, the Government of Venezuela has confirmed the arrest of the former opposition presidential candidate, Enrique Márquez – a day after NGOs and political parties denounced his arrest -, and has accused him of allegedly planning a “coup d’état” for January 10.
The Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, said that Márquez, according to a 21-page document allegedly found on his computerhad proposed holding the swearing-in ceremony of the leader of the largest opposition coalition, Edmundo González Urrutia – who claims victory in the July elections – in a Venezuelan embassy abroad.
“Since the gentleman cannot come here, or does not want to come here, Five criminals are going to meet at the headquarters of a foreign embassy“said Cabello, who indicated that the diplomatic headquarters of the Caribbean country in the United States and Peru, with which Caracas does not have relations, were taken over by the governments of these countries.
According to the document read by Cabello during the broadcast of his weekly program on the state channel VTV, the proposal consisted of “swearing in before an assembly of Venezuelan citizens” González Urrutia as president for the period 2025-2031, in “a diplomatic headquarters of the Republic of Venezuela, as an inalienable extension of the sovereignty of the republic abroad.”
The Army and Police will distribute “wanted” posters against seven former Latin American presidents
For his part, Cabello himself has announced that he has ordered the Army and Police to distribute “wanted” posters throughout the country against seven former Latin American presidents whom he accuses of intend to “attack” the country by stating that they will accompany former opposition candidate Edmundo González to the presidential investiture this Friday.
The Minister of the Interior has assured that the law enforcement They will distribute these posters “throughout the national territory, in ports, airports, streets, checkpoints, avenues” against former presidents Andrés Pastrana (Colombia), Mario Abdo Benítez (Paraguay), Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón (Mexico), Mireya Moscoso and Ernesto Pérez Balladares (Panama) and Jamil Mahuad (Ecuador), whom he has branded “criminals.”
The posters, which the minister showed during the televised broadcast, point out the seven politicians by “conspiracy and complicity in terrorist acts” and “attack the peace of Venezuela.”
The announcement comes after the National Assembly will declare nine former Latin American presidents ‘persona non grata’ this Tuesday members of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA), including those mentioned above as well as Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia) and Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica), for some “disastrous and interfering statements” when expressing “their willingness to be present in Venezuelan territory on January 10, 2025 in view of the presidential inauguration.”
The PP turns to supporting the Venezuelan exile
The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóotogether with the former leaders José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy and other leaders and barons of the party, will participate this Thursday afternoon in the support rallies called by the Venezuelan exile in Spain on the eve of the inauguration in Caracas.
An inauguration scheduled for January 10 after the elections half a year earlier and which the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia intends to attend, whom the Nicolás Maduro regime has threatened with his arrest, since Maduro intends to stage his re-election and assume office again.
Feijóo, Aznar, Rajoy and the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayusohave announced their presence at the rally called at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol at 6:00 p.m.
Other PP leaders will participate in concentrations called in other Spanish cities, including in Palma, León, Zaragoza and Guadalajara. The PP spokesperson in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, will be at the meeting in Brussels.
Vox also supports the demonstrations in favor of the Venezuelan opposition, after its leader, Santiago Abascal, this week described Maduro as “cowardly, murderous and corrupt.”
Nearly 400,000 Venezuelans reside in Spain, 10 times more than 10 years ago
Nearly 400,000 Venezuelan citizens currently reside in Spain, which is 10 times more than just 10 years ago, according to various official Spanish statistics.
According to the last Annual population census published by the National Statistics Institute (INE)the number of people with Venezuelan nationality residing in Spain on January 1 of last year was 325,254.
To that official figure We must add the 65,200 Venezuelans who arrived in Spain in the first three quarters of 2024 (22,600 in the first, 21,400 in the second and 21,200 in the third) and subtract the 9,500 who left the country in the same period (3,200 in the first quarter, 4,000 in the second and 2,300 in the third).
According to these data collected in the INE’s Continuous Population Statistics, the migration balance with Venezuela in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to 55,700 people.
