Caracas Chronicles

The Local Dispatch features selected stories from local journalists and media organizations who are reporting news from deep inside Venezuela and have no visibility abroad, even when they paint the most accurate picture of what’s actually happening in the country. The Dispatch is published weekly.

San Felipe calls for improved public services on its 295th anniversary

In the minds of Yaracuy’s people, San Felipe is a resilient city that has weathered adversity and disaster. Originally built by the cocoa-farming community of Cerrito de Cocorote (now part of San Felipe’s metropolitan area), the town was reportedly burned and harassed by colonial authorities in Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto in the early 1700s. The displaced community resettled nearby, establishing San Felipe El Fuerte, officially recognized as a city by the Spanish Crown in 1729. When the independence struggle began, the 1812 earthquake destroyed San Felipe and devastated a population that had to rebuild from scratch once more.

Yaracuy Al Día covered the official celebrations, where Chavista Governor Julio León emphasized the three Rs of the sanfelipeños: resilience, rebirth, and renewal. As part of the festivities, a multi-purpose sports facility was newly renovated, and the late PSUV mayor Francisco Capdevielle was honored with a portrait in Plaza de Los Periodistas.

Meanwhile, journalists Trina Figueroa and Carolina Cordero continued reporting on the persistent needs of Yaracuy’s residents. Arístides Bastidas municipality reports it has no diesel for garbage trucks, forcing people in Las Brisas to dump and burn trash along a nearby street. In Guama, Sabaneta sector residents have repeatedly requested the mayor’s office to replace broken streetlights without success. On Avenida Caracas in San Felipe, next to the governor’s office and Plaza Bolívar, a collapsed sewage cover has broken the asphalt around it.

Why it matters: Residents interviewed by Cordero agreed that the best birthday gift for San Felipe would be improvements to public services, an integrated asphalt plan, enhanced security, and urban modernization to support commercial and tourist activities.

More information: Chavismo has governed Yaracuy since 2007, with Governor León now serving his third consecutive term. San Felipe’s mayor’s office has also been under PSUV control since 2008, when the late Mayor Capdevielle was elected.

Gas plant explosion in Monagas affects Nueva Esparta and national gas supply

On Monday morning, a fire broke out at the Muscar gas complex in Punta de Mata, an hour west of Maturín. The explosion at PDVSA facilities was heard across the Ezequiel Zamora municipality, sending a shockwave that alarmed residents. “Around here, we’re used to these explosions,” a source told El Pitazo, though it appears this wasn’t just another routine incident. PDVSA reported that five workers were injured and noted the “unusual circumstances” of the incident, suggesting it was a deliberate attack.

Why it matters: With PDVSA’s problematic record this year, this incident is yet another blow to local residents, framed by authorities as sabotage or aggression. Additionally, BNN Bloomberg reports that the Muscar Plant holds national strategic significance: 63% of the gas consumed in Venezuela for fuel production, petrochemicals, iron, and electricity comes from this facility. In Nueva Esparta, Bajo La Lupa reports that power plants supplied by Muscar are down, leading to blackouts lasting at least eight hours.

Mass intoxications in rural schools: Portuguesa governor hints at “possible terrorist actions”

Arepita has been covering these incidents in its daily newsletter. At one school in Barinas, over 90 people fell ill, with two other schools in Portuguesa reporting over 100 affected students and teachers. The exact cause or source behind these incidents in three different towns remains unclear. According to El Pitazo, symptoms include skin irritation, rashes, respiratory problems, and, in severe cases, fainting, convulsions, and fever.

Two individuals have been detained in Portuguesa (Turén and San Rafael de Onoto municipalities), and Governor Antonio Primitivo Cedeño has raised the specter of terrorism, suggesting the incidents could be a deliberate act possibly linked to youth incited through social media platforms like TikTok.

More information: In Portuguesa, the governor’s chief of security claims to “already know” the substances involved, though no details have been disclosed as blood samples sent to Caracas await analysis. El Pitazo reports that police moved into Villa Bruzual, the capital of Turén, upon learning of the incident. The investigation is being handled by CICPC.

Recommended reads:

• VPI TV: Political prisoner Jesús Martínez Medina died in custody after being detained on July 29. He had served as an electoral witness in the presidential election. A type II diabetic, his health complications (heart failure and a leg infection) were ignored until his death on Thursday morning.

• Tal Cual: The Ministry of Education contradicts itself. Current Minister Héctor Rodríguez claims enrollment increased to five million students compared to the previous year, while his predecessor reported eight million students in 2023.

• Runrunes: According to SOS Orinoco, open-pit mining occupies 65,985 hectares in Bolívar and Amazonas, an area 1.5 times larger than Caracas.

• Tal Cual: Journalist Ana Carolina Guaita, detained in the post-electoral period, faces charges of incitement to hatred, terrorism, and public obstruction. Her detention is reportedly linked to her parents’ involvement with COPEI in La Guaira state.