Caracas Chronicles

Photo: Sputnik News, retrieved.

• Caretaker President Juan Guaidó returned to Venezuela on Tuesday through the Simón Bolívar International Airport, after an international tour that lasted 23 days. Going against the rules, immigration allowed more videos than you’d have at a wedding. Choose your favorite social media platform and you’ll find tons of material showing chavismo’s strategy to squash the impact of his return: violence encouraged by the state. 
• Chavistas attacked press workers, AN deputies who did make it to the airport and Guaidó, all of this with the absolute inaction of security bodies, too eager to allow violence. A GNB officer said: “People are furious, tired of suffering.” What he didn’t say is that Nicolás is the one responsible for suffering. The aggressions only made Guaidó’s return (and this idea people can’t shake off now) more relevant: he arrived and wasn’t arrested. 
• Chavismo’s orders must have been contradictory, the statements on Monday prove it: Diosdado Cabello said that nothing would happen to Juan Guaidó; Darío Vivas threatened him with a trial and jail; Nicolás changed his usual speech and promoted Guaidó from lackey to being responsible for sanctions. During the day, military officers blocked public roads to stop the deputies from getting to Maiquetía, a tow truck blocking the Boquerón I tunnel, a missile launcher on the edge of the the Caracas-La Guaira highway. Electricity went out in certain areas of Vargas State. And, at the airport, hecklers made it to the security area. 
• After immigration, Juan Guaidó was attacked by Conviasa’s political coordinator. The attack was in a security area, and the woman made it there thanks to Colonel Rafael Franco Quintero, Maiquetía’s chief of security, as we could see in several videos. Journalist Sebastiana Barráez explained that Franco Quintero worked at the DGCIM and that’s where he established “a brutal torture system.”
• The officer who welcomed Guaidó took his ID. He said the caretaker president has a warrant issued by the TSJ; our ID cards are non-transferable documents and keeping them from owners is an arbitrary act. One more.
• Chavista militias yelled threatening slogans about his potential detention; it must be really hard to swallow all that anger caused by the caretaker president’s exit, his successful tour and his return. 
• Juan Guaidó was brutally beaten by chavista gangs and colectivos. They punched him, scratched him and beat him with blunt objects. They did the same thing to his wife and several deputies. 
• The worst attacks were on the press, they were harassed, threatened, pushed, beaten and robbed at the airport. The SNP condemned attacks on: Naurelyn Contreras, from Punto de Corte; Nadezka Noriega, from El Pitazo; Aymara Alonso from El Venezolano Tv; Osmary Hernández, from CNN, Leonaibeth Díaz, from VPI; Rey Mozo and Iván Reyes, from Efecto Cocuyo; Daniel Hernández, from El Estímulo; César Saavedra and Estefany Brito, from CNEVE24 and Maiker Yriarte, from Tv Venezuela, among others. 
• Juan Guaidó immediately called on people to meet him at Bolívar Sq. in Chacao. He expressed his joy for being back and reuniting with Venezuelans. He reiterated the importance of the recognition obtained by Venezuelan democrats who fight Maduro’s tyranny, he honored the press workers who were attacked and he announced creating the Fondo Venezuela for our country’s recovery, about which he promised to give more details within the next few days. This fund will allow the oil industry’s and our infrastructure’s recovery, according to what he did say. 
• Guaidó called for an ordinary session on Wednesday, February 12th, our Youth Day. He said that strategies for pressure against the regime will increase, even if they’re controversial, and asked citizens to exercise their rights to protest, to make demands, to move towards achieving truly free elections. He said that 2020 will be the year of results. Guaidó asked all political leaders for unity. 
• The National Communications Center announced Juan José Márquez’s forced disappearance. He’s Juan Guaidó’s uncle and he was traveling on the plane to Venezuela. 
• Carabobo deputy Deyalitza Aray was released last night, after she was detained for four hours in a PNB checkpoint that prevented the buses where the deputies traveled from getting to Maiquetía. 
• In Zulia state, the regional police tactical unit served subpoenas to professors defending the autonomy of Zulia University. There’s a sentence trying to force authorities to violate university autonomy.
• Nicolás  announced the creation of a National Aeronautical Company (Eansa) to design and manufacture airplanes and parts, with a starting capital of 167,000 dollars. It will be part of Conviasa, recently sanctioned by the U.S. 
• Since he’s campaigning, Nicolás ordered the discussion of the collective contract of all workers in the country’s railroad system, and promised to add 100 Metrobus units for Caracas, 90 for Miranda and 50 for Vargas. He also approved resources to assemble 1,200 and recover 3,000 transport units. 
• In the EU Parliament debate about Delcy Rodríguez and Spanish minister José Luis Ábalos at the Barajas airport on January 19th and January 20th, Josep Borrell said that the European Commission can’t start proceedings regarding the infraction against Spain, because each country “is in charge of applying and verifying sanctions in their jurisdiction.” Borrell added that “when a possible violation arises, it’s the member state that’s in charge of investigating and determining if it has happened.” Minister Ábalos attended the High Chamber’s control session to answer questions on the matter.