Caracas Chronicles

National Assembly lawmakers said the National Guard prevented the press from covering the regular session that should’ve been held on Tuesday, as if the Federal Legislative Palace was Bladimir Lugo’s personal playground instead of the seat of a Parliament elected by millions of Venezuelans.

Perhaps the assault this human rights abuser enabled on July 5th allowed him to change the category of his men from guards to owners, but in any case, the AN’s Secretariat received the nominations committee’s report to proceed with the induction of the Supreme Tribunal’s new justices next Tuesday.

Graphotechnical test

The TSJ ordered the Scientific Police (CICPC) to perform the graphotechnical (handwriting) test to determine whether Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Díaz’s signature matches the one on record N° II of the Moral Republican Council’s ordinary meeting held on January 21st, 2016, in compliance with the request filed by Pedro Carreño, Tarek William Saab and Manuel Galindo in the show, sorry, the hearing for Ortega Díaz’s trial, held on July 4th. In accordance to their performance for this case, the TSJ urged CICPC investigators to move fast.

She did sign

Regardless of how the TSJ rules on the preliminary hearing on merits against her, Luisa Ortega Díaz is willing to remain in the Prosecutor’s Office. Saying once more that she doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the justices and their decisions, and that “they have no authority to carry on with that illegal, unconstitutional and illegitimate proceeding,” the Prosecutor General joggled three stances: the popular, claiming like anyone that “anything can happen here”; the loyal chavista, condemning the way el finado’s legacy has been ruined, and the institutional, adhering to the demand to suspend the call for the Constituyente, in order to start solving this crisis.

She did CICPC a favor by admitting that the signature they’re going to analyze (2016 record) is hers, and that the record that needs to be analyzed is from 2015.

By the way, the Prosecutor’s Office summoned PDVSA’s current internal manager Orlando Chacín Castillo, accusing him of buying overpriced vehicles in dollars, back when he was exploration manager at PDVSA Oriente.

Screwing up

Eager to keep playing his role, Pedro Carreño said that he’d file a measure against the popular consultation set for July 16th before the TSJ’s Electoral Chamber, requesting:

He added that the process is meant to set off violence in the country, that the opposition doesn’t participate in the Constituyente because they’re afraid of being defeated in the election and that the CNE doesn’t recognize this consultation.

A lousy set of arguments, contradicting those by chavismo so far:

• If Sunday’s election isn’t binding, they don’t need to suspend its effects.
• If they’ve been denouncing a golpista plan for months, they don’t have to associate it with the consultation.
• If chavismo, unlike the opposition, isn’t afraid to lose an election, they don’t need to impose one unconstitutionally.
• If the CNE doesn’t recognize the plebiscite, they don’t need to include it in the equation.

Read, Pedro

CNE rectora Tania D’Amelio said that the public consultation set for July 16th is an internal process of the opposition, confirming that they’ll launch an electoral drill (simulacro) for the Constituyente that day. Well, the entire Constituyente’s a simulacrum. She said that,

And then she added that the CNE is impartial.

I’m disappointed that she didn’t quote the governor Vielma Mora’s statement claiming that DICOM will be exclusively for those who vote on July 30th because:

Impositions and pardons

The First Superior Civil and Contentious Court of the Capital Region suspended the effects of the removal of Justo Flores Infante, senior prosecutor of Guárico state’s Seventeenth Prosecutor’s Office and forcibly reinstated him after admitting an amparo filed by the official.

The National Council of Universities imposed Luis Holder as the new academic vice-rector of the Simón Bolívar University (he’s professor at the Bolivarian Military University who has never worked at the USB,) violating university autonomy and the USB community’s election of professor Oscar González, who has the appropriate credentials and a long time career at the USB.

Without mentioning the 130 people arrested during Monday’s trancazo, the nonebudsman tweeted:

“We’ve recommended and requested the release of citizens for whom courts have issued release warrants, in strict compliance with our legislation,” mentioning Yon Goicoechea, the 14 PoliChacao officers and lawmaker Wilmer Azuaje, for whom he recommended a “precautionary measure in substitution of imprisonment.”

Lastly, it was reported that 17-year old student Oswaldo Britt was murdered yesterday in Ciudad Bolivar during a protest: he was rundown by a HidroBolívar truck.

Ready the sanctions

American senator Marco Rubio cautioned that there will be severe sanctions against the Venezuelan government if the Constituyente isn’t suspended, insisting on the need to restore constitutional order to solve the crisis and saying that they’ll support the efforts to “achieve reconciliation and restore democratic order in Venezuela.”

Despite the fact that she’s no longer Foreign minister, Delcy Rodríguez replied:

…

According to articles 71, 333 and 350 of the National Constitution, the public consultation for July 16th is constitutional, democratic and legitimate. The fact that chavismo’s is talking about it so much is an excellent message.