El Dispatch #13: Chavismo Shows its Teeth across the Country

With a day to go before an illegal inauguration, chavismo ramps up its policy of abductions and intimidation

Cristóbal Picón Ball January 09, 2025

El 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. El Dispatch is published weekly.

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Trujillo and other regions become epicenters of terror

In the lead-up to the presidential inauguration, chavista repression has targeted Trujillo state, where ten individuals have been detained or forcibly disappeared in three different towns. In Pampanito—where Governor Gerardo Márquez urged locals to eject María Corina Machado “by force” during her campaign tour—five people affiliated with Vente Venezuela were arrested. Among them were local party leaders Marianela Ojeda and Francisco Graterol. Journalist Nazly Escalona also reported detentions in Motatán, just kilometers from Pampanito, and in Boconó, where officials claim seven arrests. The National Guard announced the seizure of items ranging from blue shirts, phones, tablets, and passports to gasoline and firearms, alleging they were intended “to spread fear and incite hatred.”

In Ciudad Bolívar, SEBIN agents detained Jeremy Santamaría, a councilman from Un Nuevo Tiempo in the Angostura del Orinoco municipality. Sources told El Pitazo that he was intercepted on Tuesday as he left the Municipal Chamber. Two days earlier, Santamaría had responded to Machado’s January 9 rally call on X, saying, “with God, we’ll take to the streets across Venezuela.”

Repression also intensified in western Venezuela. Francisco Carriello, a municipal leader for Alianza Bravo Pueblo in Falcón state; Robert Santos, another Un Nuevo Tiempo member; and Rafael Gpitia from Vente Venezuela were taken. In Barquisimeto, masked men kidnapped Jesús Sira, a teacher and electoral witness during the fraudulent July 28 elections, as he left the school where he works.

Chavismo’s state-level maneuvers ahead of the inauguration

In response to María Corina Machado’s nationwide rally planned for Thursday, Crónica Uno reported a heavy presence of DGCIM checkpoints and PNB patrols in some Caracas metro stations and access points. Key opposition gathering points in Caracas, including Élice Street, Altamira Square, and the Líder shopping mall, were taken over by government stages and a noticeable police presence early in the morning. In Coro, due to the military-police deployment and pro-Maduro motorbike groups ahead of the march, the opposition changed the meeting point to El Tenis Avenue. In Bolívar state, journalist Pableysa Ostos noted at least four checkpoints in Puerto Ordaz.

Meanwhile, pro-government governors in Yaracuy and Carabobo have flaunted motorcycle caravans from the so-called Peace Popular Units (UPPAZ)—composed of police, military, and civilians allegedly trained to suppress “fascist actions.” Carabobo Governor Rafael Lacava joined these caravans himself, parading through Valencia and Naguanagua. In Táchira, Governor Freddy Bernal claimed his security forces are deployed along the state’s 164-kilometer border with Colombia, which he says would remain open in the coming days. In Portuguesa, Diosdado Cabello handed over 55 patrol cars and 50 motorcycles to the state’s UPPAZ, declaring their mission was to “achieve the highest levels of organization for the defense of the homeland.”

Carlos Correa and Enrique Márquez: Maduro’s new hostages

Carlos Correa, director of the NGO Espacio Público, was abducted by masked men on Tuesday in the Caracas city center. His detention has prompted an outcry from journalists, human rights defenders, and international organizations, including Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and human rights NGO Provea (where Correa once served as coordinator). A habeas corpus request filed by Provea and Correa’s wife, Mabel Calderín, was rejected by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Correa’s health, already compromised by hypertension and prostate issues, is at serious risk while in custody.

Former presidential candidate and ex-CNE rector Enrique Márquez also disappeared on Tuesday. His wife confirmed his abduction by “paramilitary groups seeking to silence and intimidate those who want a better country.” In August, Márquez challenged Maduro and the CNE to publish tally sheets at the Supreme Court, urging state institutions to respect the people’s will and uphold the constitution. Márquez’s stance has garnered support from dissident chavistas and elements of Venezuela’s critical left.