Nicolás Maduro’s security personnel attacked journalists at the South American summit in Brasilia

When the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduroleft the South American summit in Brasilia on Tuesday night, members of the president’s security attacked several press workers they waited with cameras and microphones.

The incidents, in which a journalist from the Globo television channel and other professionals were beatenbegan when Maduro gave statements to a large number of reporters at the entrance of the Itamaraty Palacethe headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country.

The crowding got out of control when Venezuelan and Brazilian guards pushed some of the journalists. It was then that the situation escalated in temperature and the blows came.

As reported by the Brazilian newspaper O’Globo, “the riot began while Maduro was giving an interview and the security guards tried to prevent the journalists from approaching.” It was “in the midst of the confusion that a security guard from the Institutional Security Office hit reporter Delis Ortiz in the chest“, although also” other journalists also suffered attacks.

After the episode, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attacks in an official statement: “The Foreign Ministry regrets the incident in which there was aggression against press professionals, at the end of the meeting of presidents of South America. Proceedings will be taken to determine responsibilities.”

Maduro was the last of the presidents to leave the headquarters of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, where a summit of South American countries convened by the Brazilian Lula da Silva was held on Tuesday.

The summit was also attended by the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández; Bolivia, Luis Arce; Chile, Gabriel Boric; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso; Guyana, Irfaan Ali; Paraguay: Mario Abdo Benitez; Suriname, Chan Santokhi; Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou.

The only absentee was the Peruvian president Dina Boluarte, who was represented by the president of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otárola.

Harsh responses from Lacalle Pou and Gabriel Boric to Lula for supporting Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan regime

The attempt to Lula Da Silva to promote regional integration at the summit of South American presidents suffered its first setback left and right when the Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou and the Chilean gabriel boric they were shown outraged by the Brazilian’s political support for the regime of Venezuelan Nicolás Madurowhich faces serious complaints of human rights violations.

Both Lacalle Pou and Boric responded harshly to Lula, who had described the questioning of the Venezuelan autocracy as “narrative”. With their critical speeches, both sought to make it clear that they will not blindly support a final declaration from the summit -which Lula’s team is promoting- where the issue is avoided and Maduro is legitimized.

“I was surprised to read, in the declaration that is currently being negotiated, that what is happening in Venezuela was discussed as a ‘narrative.’ You know what we think about Venezuela and the Venezuelan government”, launched the Uruguayan president.

“If there are so many groups in the world trying to negotiate so that democracy is full in Venezuela” and “that human rights are respected so that there are no political prisoners, the worst thing we can do is cover the sun with a finger”, remarked Lacalle Pou in direct criticism of Lula’s words.

Then it was Boric’s turn, who spoke in the same terms. “We are happy that Venezuela returns to multilateral instances because we believe that these are spaces where problems are resolved and not with statements where we attack each other,” he started.

However, he clarified that “this cannot mean sweeping under the rug or turning a blind eye to issues that for us are principled and important, and there I respectfully stated that I had a discrepancy with President Lula. It is not a narrative construction, it is a serious reality”, he emphasized.

With information from EFE.

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