Caracas Chronicles

• The EU decided to send an electoral observation mission, responding to an invitation and is in no way trying to interfere in the process, said a spokesperson on Monday. They assured that this is part of the agreement signed by the EU and the National Electoral Council (CNE). This was the response to the regime’s scandalized reaction after last week’s statement by EU’s Josep Borrell. This statement: “If the opposition decides to go (to the elections) and that is a path that helps to obtain more institutionalization of the opposition, am I going to say that I’m not going to send an observation mission because the elections are fraudulent?”
• The electoral drill on Sunday showed what the political campaign has caused. Public resources were used to favor some political parties and there was social control on the mobilization of the population using programs like CLAP, as denounced by organizations like Súmate. There were “puntos rojos” in over 85% of voting centers and in over half of them, CNE personnel failed to explain the voting method, militia, PSUV members, Plan República officers and unidentified personnel did. COVID-19 safety measures weren’t respected either. 
• Maduro announced the “green light method” for restaurants. The president of the National Restaurant Chamber Iván Puerta explained it’s an app to determine the client’s level of safety and that it’s connected to the Patria system, where everyone who’s had a vaccine or gotten a PCR test is allegedly registered. A security officer will ask for the ID number and give you a red, yellow, or green light to enter. The Health Ministry ruled out that the vaccination card is needed. 
• The Sociedad Venezolana de Infectología reiterated that the Abdala and Soberana II candidates lack the proper studies and aren’t safe vaccines. 

The Venezuelan Medical Federation said the flexibilization for November and December suggested by Maduro, would be fatal. 

• Families demanded the freedom of Auremys Graterol, Humberto Salazar and Eduardo José Gil, accused of hacking the screens of the Maiquetía and Margarita airports. Their lawyer insisted that they’re violating due process since the person who did it admitted to it and they live abroad, but the judge insists on keeping them in prison.
• Foro Penal confirmed political prisoner Jesús Andrés Martínez has been released from jail, under precautionary measures. He had been in prison since January 2019. 
• The Spanish National Police confiscated 4,248 kg of cocaine and arrested 20 people who were trying to smuggle the drugs into the country using a Venezuelan fishing boat. 
• On Monday morning, GNB officers allowed people to cross the Simón Bolívar International Bridge since all illegal pathways are closed because of the Táchira River flooding. The border isn’t officially open yet. 

Protesters demanded hate crimes against the LGBTQ community be investigated. 

• Two Venezuelan teenagers (18 and 13 years old) were murdered in Tibú, Colombia after they were caught stealing on Friday. It’s believed that the murderers are part of the 33rd Front of FARC dissidents. 
• Venezuelan migrants detained at the Winn Correctional Center in the U.S. asked Carlos Vecchio to mediate in their immigration processes. Lawyer Rolando Vázquez denounced that they’re being deported in secret and taken to a third country. 
• Amnesty International denounced that Curacao and the Netherlands are still violating the rights of Venezuelans who arrive on the island. The NGO documented 22 cases of people who have suffered human rights violations. 
• Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, chavismo’s former chief of intelligence, handed over to judge Manuel García Castellón some documents that prove the payments authorized and made by Hugo Chávez and Maduro to the founders of Podemos, including a payment for $6.7 million dollars in 2007, said ABC. 
• Foreign minister Félix Plasencia rejected the sanctions during the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. He also rejected the FMI’s refusal to release $5,000 million dollars for chavismo.