Opposition clashes with riot police in Venezuela

BOGOTA, Colombia

Venezuelan riot police fired tear gas to disperse supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday as they marched down an avenue in the capital Caracas towards the National Assembly.

Troops blocked members of parliament and other marchers as they threw rocks and sticks at police, trying to regain control of the national legislature, which pro-government lawmakers seized control of in January.

“My respects to the courage of those who went out to face this struggle. The dictatorship tried to intimidate us with weapons and threats,” Guaido wrote on Twitter, sharing a video of thousands of protesters as they walked and chanted anti-government slogans.

“This is the people's answer. We took to the streets as planned, and together with the free world, we will not rest until we succeed,” he wrote.

For weeks, Guaido has called on Venezuelans to join the rally as a way of reviving the anti-Maduro sentiment manifested in many protests since 2019.

“#Caracas: see you at 10AM in John Paul II Square. We'll be at the front with the deputies and leaders of all sectors,” he said on Twitter several times over the last few days.

In January, a faction of the opposition with the support of the ruling socialist party installed themselves as the leaders of congress after Venezuelan police blocked Guaido.

On Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemned the arrest of opposition figures and recent attacks on Guaido since he returned to Caracas last month after an international tour that included a White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

At a hearing of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Bachelet said her office documented “acts of aggression against members of the political opposition, protesters and journalists” and claimed “the security forces did not act to prevent such acts of aggression.”

The Venezuelan ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Jorge Valero, who participated in the hearing, criticized the information provided by the high commissioner in the oral update.