10-year Prison Terms For Protest Marchers in Venezuela

New law makes it a crime to march in protest against Chavez, or even write about it. Prison terms range from 5 to 10 years per protester.

Desperate and with only one in ten Venezuelans supporting it, the Chavez regime has unleashed a new "Ley de Seguridad de la Nacion" on the democratic opposition in Venezuela. This "National Security Law" basically makes it a crime to be against Chavez: With dissidents being sent to prison camps for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years. Among the "crimes" punishable by harsh sentences of five-to-ten can be found such simple acts as as participating in a protest march near a security zone, and inviting others to such protest marches (the law's article 56).

Security zones can be any area that the Chavez regime says. Currently, there are 8 such security zones in Caracas alone, and 107 in the country. They cover airports, military bases, government buildings, even state-owned radio and TV stations. And if a Venezuelan ever wanted to march on Miraflores, the presidential palace and also designated a "security zone", he better be a Chavez-supporter. Otherwise he is facing up to 10 years in jail.

Journalist covering protests would be deemed "instigators" and would also face stiff prison terms, a Chavez insider reported. This is a way to effectively silence critical opposition press coverage while still in theory allowing freedom of expression in Venezuela.

The same law, in its article 32, also allows the government to militarize companies, be it state-owned or private. In the case of private companies, such a militarization means that the basic human rights of the owners and the workers no longer apply. Owners are subject to what the local military boss says. And workers can not strike. If they are absent from the workplace, they will be termed military deserters and can be punished in a military tribunal for treason.

The democratic future of Venezuela and the hemisphere has moved to a whole new level. With a new oil-dictatorship right in Caribbean, the stability of the Americas is at stake now. And time is running out.