In a video released today, former president of Colombia Alvaro Uribe, who led the campaign against the peace accords in Colombia, called for the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Venezuela.
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"It is necessary to remove the tyranny in Venezuela," adding without providing any evidence, "The Venezuelan tyranny has eliminated democracy and massacred citizens," said the current senator, who has been implicated in having ties with paramilitary groups who target social justice activists and campesinos in Colombia.
The reality of the situation on the ground in Venezuela shows that the opposite is true: right-wing protesters are carrying out a campaign of terrorism against the government and the Venezuelan people. In fact, opposition demonstrators are responsible for most of the deaths that have occurred within the last three weeks, a recent teleSUR investigation found.
Earlier in the day, Uribe posted on Twitter that he would be making an announcement on the need for intervention in Venezuela.
In a clear attempt to encourage foreign intervention, Uribe claimed, "This has the same gravity of the chemical weapons that Syria uses against its citizens," and asked, "How long will the international community allow this massacre to continue in Venezuela? It is time to remove the tyranny."
Uribe is an outspoken representative of the hardline faction opposing dialogue and reconciliation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army in Colombia. Frequently criticizing President Juan Manuel Santos for seeking rapprochement with both groups, Uribe favors head-on military confrontation with the rebels.
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His presidency, from 2002 to 2010 was marked by record-level human rights abuses and numbers of people fleeing the country as refugees. He also oversaw the “false positives” scandal, which broke in 2008, revealing a concerted military strategy of murdering civilians, including homeless and mentally ill people, and dressing them in guerrilla fatigues to boost the government’s body count in the war against rebels.
More than 3,000 people were killed as “false positives” during Uribe’s two terms in office.
Uribe accused the Venezuelan government — again with no evidence — of protecting what he calls the "terrorists" from the FARC and the ELN, lamenting that the international community has "reacted late against the political prisoners in Venezuela."