Venezuela: Santa Elena de Uairén, the Border City of Brazil at the Epicenter of the Maduro Repression | Internationale

But since Friday, Santa Elena has become the epicenter of the most severe crackdown by the Chavez authorities against the attempt to admit humanitarian aid into the country. The incidents resulted in four deaths and dozens of injuries confirmed, including a score treated in hospitals in Brazil. Most of them wounded by bullets.

Political leaders who were supporters of Juan Guaidó, interim president of Venezuela, and indigenous leaders of Pemon, the local ethnic group, demanded the entry of the cargo. Many of them tried to approach the Pacaraima border post, the only one between the two countries, by tracks (tracks to cross irregularly) and had to face the army. .

The deceased responds to the names of José Hernández, José Pérez and José Barrios. The last deceased, Zoraida Rodríguez, fell into the hands of the military in the village of Kumarakapay, one hour from Santa Elena. Chavismo news agencies and their media did not refer to what happened in this usually peaceful village. Censorship and informational obscurity were the common denominator of the episode.

The versions on the number of victims were the subject of debates throughout the weekend. Although all journalistic versions insist that there are four dead, the opposition MP Américo de Grazia, elected in this entity, and leader of the radical cause, says that it is more. He is not the only one to say it. "I have confirmed information, coming from internal sources and totally reliable, that they realized that the military fort of El Escamoto had entered 15 bodies after the entrance to the tanks of the National Guard in the city center, several protesters did not show up, the names, we start to investigate, it will be a slow process. "

The military authorities are particularly interested in Emilio González, Mayor of Santa Elena de Uairén, an opponent whom they consider an enemy and who is responsible for the demonstrations. González is hidden in the jungle of the border, accompanied by the leaders of Pemon who support him, heading to Brazil. On Saturday night, he appeared before the press at the Pacaraima border post to denounce Chavista's attack on his city. "We are treating 25 dead and 84 wounded, what happens is that the hospitals do not control us, they control them," he said to explain the voluminous figure. Gonzalez added that "the municipality is taken" and that "the tanks roll in the streets, and if they meet someone who resists, they shoot or they climb and take it". The corpses, he confirmed, are transferred to El Escamoto, a military fort in the area.

On the 22nd, the demonstrations in Santa Elena were particularly violent. It was started by indigenous groups of the Pemón ethnic group, usually dedicated to mountain tourism as a subsistence activity. In recent times, many of them have migrated to gold mining, an expanding business in the region that is profitable but polluting and dangerous and attracts all kinds of people and interests.

The Pemones and their caciques had already had altercations with the military lately because of the mining activities. Many Chavez military want to control the activity of gold and attack and blackmail the Pemones. The army recently killed two of them, apparently for resisting and developing illegal mining activities. The Pemon clan leaders had a declaratory exchange with the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, whom they described as "murderer and hypocrite" a few weeks ago.

The Pemones, one of the ethnic groups of the Guyanese mbadif, which are ravaged by the bankruptcy of the country, were very attached to the entrance of humanitarian aid promoted by the opposition. The riots of the 23rd took place in the center of Santa Elena. There, the tanks arrived by firing blindly.

At noon, dozens of buses, police vans and collection. Residents said they were "collectives", squads of armed civilians organized by the Chavismo who, from other parts of the country, were welcomed into the military installations of the region.

According to reports, the collectives carried out an important part of the repression on the 23rd. The bursts of shots and bullets were heard for a long time. The pemons and criollos protested, that is, citizens who are not indigenous. In the afternoon, he panicked in Santa Elena and the surrounding area.

Angry protesters burned an internal National Guard checkpoint and a mobile alcabala. Damage was caused at the seat of the city council. Several Pemones remain imprisoned in military dungeons. In the immediate vicinity of the city's airport, there were also serious disturbances, especially the 22nd.

This weekend was commented with emphasis on the presence of Diosdado Cabello in Santa Elena. The village has risen Sunday quieter. The collectives disappeared. People have recovered from panic, collective trauma and destruction.