CARACAS, Thursday November 15, 2007 | Update
Venezuelan authorities were requested Thursday in a press
release from Amnesty International to take prompt action in
order to prevent a potential escalation of violence over the
next few weeks, in advance of a referendum on the proposed
changes to the Constitution.
The organization has "watched with concern violent confrontations
in the context of the protests that have been held since October
2007, in favor and against the constitutional reform."
"During such protests, there have been violent clashes both
between the officials of security agencies responsible for
keeping law and order and demonstrators, and between the students
who take part in the protests and armed civilians, resulting
in at least nine injured and two dead people."
Amnesty International urged the authorities to ensure prompt
investigation in an independent, impartial manner, and make
the individuals responsible to face trial.
04:17 PM. Western Hemisphere. "Damned empire; I curse you one thousand times; some day you will be finished off and wrecked. I curse you one thousand times, empire." This is the least that President Hugo Chávez has uttered to refer to the US government. In urging the Bolivarian Armed Forces to prepare for war, he said that a US raid on Venezuela through Colombia would trigger and spread over the region "the 100-year war."