Two people celebrating in the street the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores by US forceswhich occurred in the early morning of January 3, were detained by officials of the Autonomous Institute of the Police of the state of Mérida.
The subjects, 64 and 65 years old, They allegedly shouted slogans against the national government, celebrating the departure of Madurothey offended PSUV militant residents and even carried out detonations with firearms, according to the police minutes released in social networks.
During the arrest, which occurred in the Los Cedros sector, Río Negro parish of the Guaraque municipality, the agents inspected the detainees’ home and found a Smith & Wesson brand revolver with six cartridges – five fired – and a shotgun with no visible mark.
The men remain detained at the Guaraque Police Stationwhere the corresponding police and legal actions are carried out.
In the state of Miranda, the arrest of a young man in Charallave was also reported after a search of his mobile phone in which information in favor of Maduro’s capture was allegedly found, according to local media.
State of Foreign Commotion contemplates arrests after Maduro’s capture
The wave of arrests occurred after the publication in the Official Gazette of the State of Foreign Commotion decree, signed by the Venezuelan Executive after the US military operation.
The decree grants broad powers to the security forces to capture “any person involved in the promotion or support of the armed attack of the United States of America against the territory of the Republic.”
Article 5 instructs police agencies, both at the national, state and municipal levels, to execute these arrests “immediately” and place those involved at the command of the Public Ministry and the criminal justice system.
This extraordinary framework, which also contemplates other measures such as the suspension of rights to assembly or demonstration, has generated warnings from human rights organizations about possible impacts on civil liberties.
