Paramilitary in Venezuela making war against the people

Washington Times:

A key opposition leader jailed for more than a month by Venezuela’s protest-embattled government says leaders from across Latin America are engaged in a “shameful silence” toward human rights abuses being carried by “paramilitary groups” loyal to Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro.

The U.S. and Canada-backed Organization of American States is also ignoring what Leopoldo Lopez, a former district mayor in Caracas detained since Feb. 18 on “arson and conspiracy” charges, described as a Maduro government crackdown on protestors and intimidation campaign against opposition leaders.

“The [OAS], which represents nations in the Western Hemisphere, has abstained from any real leadership on the current crisis of human rights and the looming specter of a failed state, even though it was formed precisely to address issues like these,” Mr. Lopez wrote in an op-ed published in Tuesday’s New York Times.

“We need real engagement from the international community, particularly in Latin America,” he wrote. “The outspoken response from human rights organizations is in sharp contrast to the shameful silence from many of Venezuela’s neighbors in Latin America.”

“Since student protests began on Feb. 4, more than 1,500 protesters have been detained, more than 30 have been killed, and more than 50 people have reported that they were tortured while in police custody,” Mr. Lopez wrote. “What started as a peaceful march against crime on a university campus has exposed the depth of this government’s criminalization of dissent.”
...

Perhaps the administration is envious of the way Venezuela is dealing with its political opposition.  It is not as messy as using the IRS to harass those who oppose you.

The fact is, we should be on the side of the people in this general uprising against a despotic regime.