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“I can say that the Government of Nicolas Maduro He is capable of anything, because I was on the other side of the town; as soldiers, we were asked by the high military command to be very strong in repression, we knew that if we had to use weapons, we had to use them, we had to do everything to control the people."
This is what Israel Vargas Ríos said in an interview with Península 360 Press, who lamented that “once again they want to steal the opportunity from the people to choose their leaders, they are hopeless dictators.”
“Nobody should tell me what the situation is in Venezuela, since I had to escape a few years ago. Being a soldier in my country, I had to see the way in which Nicolás Maduro's government works. They do not respect the laws or the Constitution and, above all, they do not respect the people, who they have even led to repression and massacres,” he stressed.
Ríos stressed that in democratic countries, it is the people who make the decisions and in the case of last Sunday's elections in Venezuela, it was already known that they were not going to hand over power, because those who are now in government have a rather dark future ahead of them, one in which there is nothing but prison, because they have done nothing but harm to the Venezuelan people, from whom they have stolen a lot.
He said that “the issue of Venezuela is quite sad, outrageous; for me it is really frustrating, since I was a soldier in Venezuela, my professional career is as a soldier. I have a degree in Military Sciences, my future, like that of many others, is cut short thanks to the government, for the simple fact of not agreeing with what they did, with the humiliations.”
Israel Vargas, who now devotes himself to other activities away from the Army, including sports, acknowledged that, despite being far from Venezuela, he cannot ignore everything that happens, and therefore “I cannot be indifferent.”
In recent years, almost eight million people have migrated to Venezuela. “It is regrettable, it is sad, it is an issue that I try to avoid, not to mention, but I cannot be indifferent, insensitive. Personally, the issue of Maduro's dictatorship affects me much more, knowing that at least part of my family is still there and that many Venezuelans long to return one day.”
In turn, he recalled that in the case of the 2013 election, after the death of Hugo Chávez, I think that Maduro could have won the elections, but in 2018, in those elections it was known that the Electoral Council was under the command of the government, including the witnesses, it was already known that he was going to win due to the control of the State in the electoral process, in addition to the fact that abstention was very high.
She added that after the election on Sunday, July 28, Maria Corina Machado has exposed the historic electoral fraud before the international community. As a Venezuelan and as a former member of the armed forces of my country, I have to say that it is very difficult to fight against a dictatorship from the people. We only have to look at what is happening now. They are killing people, the civilian population. The number of deaths due to Maduro continues to increase hour by hour.”
It is very sad, he said, to know that people continue to die trying to free themselves from the dictatorship.
“It is clear to us that the Chavista government of Nicolás Maduro is capable of lying to the international community and to the people. They are capable of anything. They will not exhaust any means or any option that would cost them the cost of giving up power.”
He said that the situation in Venezuela is horrible, as the armed forces are in a difficult situation, “at least for me, that's why I fled from there. You know that on the other side there is family, friends, acquaintances, knowing that they are killing innocent people who are only fighting for their dreams and freedom, I have to say it, I ended up going to psychological therapy for everything that happened, now I'm better, but I refuse to stay silent about all the injustices.”
We want a free Venezuela
For his part, Frank Santos, a Venezuelan living in Philadelphia, said that the situation in his home country has become so critical that one is even afraid to speak up despite living abroad, “because the government looks for ways to affect our families, the regime and its people follow our accounts, they are watching everything, that is why we want a free Venezuela, people are threatened, fearful, the government does not want people to wake up, but it seems that the inevitable is happening.”
In this regard, he explained that, although the government does not accept it, Venezuela is living under a dictatorship.
"The government in power has violated all citizens' rights, they have everything under control, although we know that they are asking the community to intervene to verify the issue of the vote," he said.
Finally, he stressed that Maduro and all his officials "are not going to give up power so easily, because they know that once they leave, jail and punishment await them, that is why they cling to power at the cost of the country's bad situation,
“We have to say it, there are many natural resources in Venezuela, but this situation is at odds with reality. The Venezuelan population is mired in poverty and despair, at least the majority.”
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