The Miami Herald reported crowds amassed in Sucre, in eastern Caracas — one of the eight opposition rallying points. City council member Juan Carlos Vidal said violent clashes overnight with police had some protesters wary of taking the street, yet they still seemed to be showing up in force.
The pictures of the crowd at one of the eight locations looks like over 500,000 people. If there are eight such locations then over a million possible a couple of million took to the streets.
France24 has footage of the anti-Maduro protests.
Warnings and Threats From All Sides
The Associated Press reported:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro not to use force against mass demonstrations and urged further international support for the self-declared acting president.
Pompeo demands that the military, whose leadership has confirmed its loyalty to Maduro, protect Guaido, a day after deadly street clashes.
“I reiterate our warning about any decision by remnant elements of the Maduro regime to use violence to repress the peaceful democratic transition,” Pompeo says.
Russia and China are voicing support for Maduro and warning the US not to intervene.
There are articles in the Chinese press that express some concern over the $50 billion in debt owed to China by Venezuela. The articles indicate that China would still expect to be paid back even if there is a change in regime.
Maduro gave a 72-hour deadline for US diplomats to leave Venezuela. The US has said it would not comply and is leaving people at the US Embassy. Any attack on the US Embassy would be justification for US intervention.
BBC News has reports on Venezuela.
BBC News diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said the US could put the government and its military commanders on notice that any attacks on civilians or stepped-up repression will be closely monitored and documented, with the possibility of some form of international judicial involvement in the future.
This action is the subtext of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warning to Maduro.
Juan Guaido was briefly detained and then released several days ago. If there was not the clear international attention then Guaido could have just been eliminated.
The key is whether Venezuela’s military sticks with Maduro.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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