The president of the Organization of Venezuelans Persecuted Political in Exile (Veppex), José Antonio Colina, today asked the Government of his country to release the hundreds of prisoners considered “political” still imprisoned and not only about 40 people .
In statements to Efe, Colina described as “maneuvering” the decision of the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, to release a small number of “hostages” in order to obtain “political benefits” in return, although, from the humanitarian point of view, he was pleased that these people can get out of jail.
Therefore, he considered that releasing these “exchange tokens” represents more a “show” than a demonstration of a willingness to change things in the country.
In his opinion, with the releases of these last days Maduro wants to present himself at the dialogue table between the Government and the anti-Chavez in the Dominican Republic with some gesture of conciliation and “gain time” until having more favorable conditions in future presidential elections.
In addition, Colina, considered that the released are people of “low profile” to those who have “broken the spirit” and will not raise their voices again to protest the circumstances that are experienced in the country and will choose to remain “silent or leave. from the country”.
Therefore, believes that “nothing will change” in Venezuela, but anticipated that in the first quarter of 2018 the crisis in the country will worsen, which could lead to the “enraged people” reach a “breaking point” and there is a social explosion.
Of these protests, he considered that some unknown person who becomes leader of the opposition and who gives relief to the current anti-Chavistas, who sees “burned” already in that role, could leave from the “bases”.
The freedom of all those considered as “political prisoners” is one of the requests of the opponents in the dialogue they have with the Maduro government to seek a solution to the crisis that Venezuela is experiencing, in negotiations that Colina repudiated sharply.
They also demand changes in the Electoral Council, which they distrust; the restitution of the powers of the Parliament, with an opposition majority, and the opening of a humanitarian channel for the entry of food and medicine into the country.
The ruling party, for its part, calls for the acceptance of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) established by Chavez in Venezuela, as well as the lifting of economic sanctions by the United States that weigh on some government officials.
