which means he can’t be a candidate next year, either,
Venezuela’s Top Opposition Leader Barred From Holding Office.
This shouldn’t come as a much of a surprise, since,
President Nicolás Maduro and his mentor and predecessor Hugo Chávez have barred dozens of popular opposition politicians for minor or trumped-up offenses in the past decade to help hold on to power, say international rights groups and constitutional experts. Dozens more have been jailed without trial or are on the run.
El Aissami had to do with it,
The move against Mr. Capriles comes after Vice President Tareck El Aissami blasted him on Thursday for leading antigovernment protests that led to clashes between police and demonstrators earlier that day. Mr. El Aissami called the protesters terrorists and compared them to coup plotters who briefly overthrew Mr. Chávez 15 years ago.
Venezuela Socialists’ election strategy? Block adversaries
A nearly identical maneuver was used ten years ago to halt the rise of former mayor Leopoldo Lopez, who in polls remains one of the most influential opposition leaders despite being jailed three years ago for his role in anti-government protests.
López is still in jail.
Street protests continue, but
No TV stations in the country carried the vast protests, with Globovision — the 24 hour news station — showing Argentina Falkland/Malvinas Islands history.
Capriles was tear-gassed today
Take 20 seconds to watch the video in this tweet. It shows a calm, colected Henrique Capriles walking down the street when suddenly, for no apparent reason, a tear gas canister is shot straight at his group.
That’s the dynamic at work in this week’s protests in Caracas. It really is perverse.
2.00 pm Henrique Capriles en Las Mercedes pic.twitter.com/bq13oU0Eu2
— Adriana Núñez R. (@Adriananunezr) April 10, 2017
