- Posted February 23, 2014 by
This iReport is part of an assignment:
Protestas en Venezuela
Hundreds of Venezuelans brave cold conditions in protest of homeland’s repression
Ongoing protests led by Venezuelan students and soon joined by civilians all over the country started on youth day, February 12. The demonstrations have been brutally repressed and have resulted in at least ten deaths, many injured, imprisonments and tortures. In addition, freedom of speech and press has been harshly reprimanded. Written press has no paper to publish, national TV stations are gagged, and an international news station from neighboring Colombia was taken out of cable (tnt24) by decree, CNN is in jeopardy and is being bullied by the government.
In the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, contributing factors to the Venezuelan students’ movement include no future prospects, lack of basic goods like milk, bread and toilet paper, surging inflation and rising murder and criminality rates that go unpunished.
Protests from Venezuelans resident worldwide have erupted to request other governments, specially to the members of the Organization of American States, signatories of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, to pressure the Venezuelan government to respect human rights, freedom of press, unarm paramilitaries and take out foreign troops out of the country.