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Venezuela’s bishops: military must serve people

July 27, 2017

As opposition forces in Venezuela called a nationwide strike to protest President Nicolás Maduro’s increasingly authoritarian rule, the episcopal conference called on members of the military not to become instruments of oppression.

The bishops, “together with the clamor of the majority of the Venezuelan people, demand that the armed forces fulfill their duty to be at the service of the people,” the bishops’ conference has tweeted twice in recent days.

 


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  • Posted by: Randal Mandock - Jul. 28, 2017 4:41 AM ET USA

    The radio news reported this morning that the average Venezuelan has lost 20 lbs due to the starvation imposed by the Maduro regime. Sickness abounds as pharmaceuticals are in short supply. Reports for the last several months indicate that one of the few places to secure food and medicine is across the border in neighboring countries. No, the violence is nowhere near the people's "first resort." Rather, it is a result of what may be nearing their last gasp for air in a regime-sealed container.

  • Posted by: balderdash - Jul. 27, 2017 5:35 PM ET USA

    How certain are we that 'the clamor' coming from the Venezuelan people, is coming from "t majority" of them. It strikes me that there is enough of a population still supporting Maduro's government and a new constitution that, if we're not careful, Venezuela could fall into the same variety of regime change as Syria or Ukraine. Along with calling on the military to serve the people the Bishops should not be shy about 'calling out' those of the opposition whose first resort seems to be violence.