Venezuela indicts opposition activists amid recall effort

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:53am EDT

Venezuela indicts opposition activists amid recall effort

CARACAS | BY BRIAN ELLSWORTH

Venezuelan prosecutors said on Wednesday they have indicted two opposition activists on money laundering charges, a move slammed by government adversaries who say the two are being targeted for seeking a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.

Prosecutors said Francisco Marquez, 30, and Gabriel San Miguel, 24, were arrested on Sunday after being stopped on a highway in eastern Venezuela carrying pamphlets and 2.9 million bolivars, equivalent to less than $3,000 on the black market.

Socialist Party leader Erika Farias on Tuesday tweeted that the two "were busted with money and payrolls to pay mercenaries of destabilization," echoing government claims that opposition leaders are to blame for recent looting at supermarkets.

Opposition mayor David Smolansky of the Caracas district of El Hatillo, where Marquez works, insisted the two were coordinating a signature validation campaign to seek a recall of Maduro, who is facing public anger over triple-digit inflation and Soviet-style product shortages.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-opposition-idUSKCN0Z81XU

[COLGATE4]

1. Chavista 'democracy' in action - if you can't beat them

at the polls, jail them.