Beware of a ‘self-coup’ before Venezuelan elections

As Venezuela gets closer to its Dec. 6 legislative elections with the opposition coalition leading by a comfortable margin in all major polls, there are growing fears that the government will take advantage of a climate of chaos — and perhaps even create it — in order to suspend the elections.

Hardly a day goes by without new statements or actions by President Nicolás Maduro — such as his closing of the border with Colombia this week — that fuel speculation that he may be seeking to create a climate of chaos to stage a “self-coup’’ and suspend the vote, well-placed Venezuelan opposition sources tell me.

Maduro has used government-controlled courts to jail leading opposition leaders such as Leopoldo López under fabricated charges, and to ban at least 10 others — including charismatic former congresswoman Maria Corina Machado — from running for Congress in the upcoming elections.

In addition, Maduro has said Venezuela will not allow international observers from the Organization of American States for the legislative elections. Instead, he says he will only invite representatives of the more sympathetic Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to visit the country as “electoral escorts, ” a government invention that critics say amounts to “electoral tourism” by mostly pro-government foreign diplomats.

To continue reading this article click The Miami Herald