During the plebiscite
organized by the Venezuelan opposition on July 16, a group of suspected pro-government
armed groups attacked
one of the voting centers in plaza Catia, Caracas. As a result of the attack
one woman died and at least three more people were wounded.
President Maduro has
hinted at the possibility that the “US Department of State and Donald Trump”
could be behind the attack in Catia. His suspicions are based on the second
paragraph of a press
release published by the Department of States on July 17, a day after the plebiscite.
“…we condemn the loss
of life in Catia, Caracas and deplore the violence. We call on the Venezuelan
government to bring the attackers to justice,” says the second paragraph of the
statement.
“This is a very
delicate and strange paragraph in this statement,” explained
Maduro, “we are now investigating the reason for this second paragraph.
Donald Trump and the Department of State concerned with Catia? What is this
about? (…) What importance could plaza Catia have had for the failed imperialist
strategy?”
“How far can a
conspiracy go in preparing false flags (falsos
positivos) and massacres? How far does the hand of the US embassy reach
into the massacre attempts that have been staged in Venezuela in the last one hundred
days?” Maduro also asked.
To answer these
questions the president has asked Venezuela’s “highest authorities” to mount a
full investigation “in order to concentrate our efforts, and to integrate all
the institutions, in the task of clearing this strange and unique expression in
the second paragraph by the Department of State, naming plaza Catia.”