TOKYO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for all parties in Venezuela to “respect the democratic process” in an election on Sunday, speaking less than an hour before polls open.
“The Venezuelan people deserve an election that genuinely reflects their will, free from any manipulation. The international community is going to be watching this very closely. We urge all parties to honor their commitments and to respect the democratic process,” Blinken told reporters in Japan.
Venezuelans will vote between continuity in President Nicolas Maduro or change in rival Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia amid high tension following the incumbent’s threat of a “bloodbath” if he loses, which polls suggest is likely.
Maduro, who is seeking a third six-year term at the helm of the once wealthy South American petro-state, is accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
Blinken said the election is a “pivotal event at a pivotal time given the severe political, economic and humanitarian crises the country faces.”
Washington is keen, as is Caracas, for an easing of punitive measures against Venezuela’s critical but severely weakened oil sector at a time of great pressure on crude prices with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Venezuela has also been a major source of migration pressure on the southern US border, a situation experts say will only worsen in the event of a post-election political crisis.
The United States has insisted that the lifting of sanctions depends on a fair vote.
US’s Blinken calls on Venezuela parties to ‘respect democratic process’ in vote
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US’s Blinken calls on Venezuela parties to ‘respect democratic process’ in vote
- Washington is keen, as is Caracas, for an easing of punitive measures against Venezuela’s critical but severely weakened oil sector at a time of great pressure on crude prices with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East
Protesters try to attack driver after truck speeds through anti-Iran demonstration in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with marchers demonstrating in support of the Iranian people, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver.
The U-Haul truck, with its side mirrors shattered, was stopped several blocks away and surrounded by police cars. ABC7 news helicopter footage showed officers keeping the crowd at bay as demonstrators swarmed the truck, throwing punches at the driver and thrusting flagpoles through the driver’s side window.
The police department confirmed its officers were on the scene but didn’t immediately say if anyone was arrested.
Two people were evaluated by paramedics and both declined treatment, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Several hundred people had gathered Sunday afternoon in the Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian theocracy. The LA police department eventually issued a dispersal order, and by 5 p.m. only about a hundred protesters were still at the scene, ABC7 reported.
Activists say a crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed more than 530 people. Protesters flooded the streets in Iran’s capital of Tehran and its second-largest city again Sunday.
