The Longest Night

It was about 2 am when finally news came from Prison "Ramo Verde". An extraordinary and unusual trial or indictment (we don't really know), happened inside those walls. The judge and the whole crew of lawyers moved from the Justice Palace to the Prison to read charges to the Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.

As far as it is known, more than nine accusations add up to a possible sentence of 38 years, since the Government is blaming Lopez for crimes that go from robbery, assault and homicide. These allegations are completely false. Lopez has been awarded as Third Best Major in the world, graduated in Harvard and has been fighting for his country, Venezuela, since his early youth.

The truth is that Venezuela is undergoing a severe crisis in economy, health, education and civil. The lack of policies that guarantee these basics rights have been forgotten and besides the inflation, unemployment and insecurity (more than 25 thousand violent deaths in the last 10 years), have driven Venezuela to an unbearable situation where its citizens live to survive.

Last night while President Nicolas Maduro was broadcasted nationally, hundreds of armed men spread out throughout the city, shooting people at random just because they stand in the streets, National Guard is persecuting them to the buildings where they seek protection, these students are merely 18 to 26 years old and are protesting for their future according to our Constitution (art. 68).

Last night Venezuelan States Tachira and Merida where taken by military forces and citizens say through the only media we have access to, Twitter and Facebook, that electricity and Internet have been shot down.

Las night a huge amount of military trucks crossed the city of Caracas, from Esat to West, and stopped at La Carlota Airport (Military Base) in the heart of the city as prevention. As this is a war. It is not.

A war is when two sides fight with arms. This looks like a massacre for which we protest and call the world to lay eyes on Venezuela. Students are unarmed, and thus far, accountability calls more than 5 deads, more than 50 wounded, dozens of imprisoned or disappeared.

Students today are claiming the Catholic Church to intervene to find solutions to the crisis, those who were not attacked last night. One of those students lost an eye when he was hit by a tear gas bomb.

Students are calling today to a rally –a pacific and peaceful gathering- to keep on going with his legal, constitutional and civil rights to protest to a Government who has turned from democracy to a communism ruled by Cuban ideology and has been infiltrated in its most intern and delicate organisms and State institutions with policies and a firm conviction to make Venezuela a Communist State.

We are not going to accept it. Neither do students, or civil society.

We claim for the freedom of imprisoned students, justice for our dead children and restitution of Democracy.