The government led by President Nicolás Maduro made clear before the opposition ‘Takeover of Caracas’ on 1 September – a planned 1m-strong march on the capital in demand of a presidential recall referendum – that it anticipated violence. From Maduro on down, government officials, using aggressive and threatening language, slammed the demonstration in advance as a US-backed opposition coup attempt. The interior minister, Néstor Reverol, warned that the right to march was “not absolute”. And the cynicism with which Diosdado Cabello, number two in the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), openly baited opposition supporters to cross the line only served to emphasise how high the stakes are for both sides. End of preview - This article contains approximately 843 words.
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