Maduro Locks Up 2,000 Venezuelans in Fiercest Crackdown of His Rule

Venezuela’s president has now ratcheted up the ire against the opposition and its supporters like never before.

Maduro has said Machado and González “should be behind bars.” He has already arrested 2,000 protesters and promised to send them to maximum-security prisons for 30 years, the same sentence doled out to murderers. At least 14 media workers have been deported, according to the country’s journalists union.

For now, the days in Caracas have resumed to normalcy after protests earlier in the week, with messengers delivering packages and papers from office to office. Grocery stores and pharmacies have reopened. Restaurants and bars too, though some are operating with limited hours.

But at night, the streets are empty and ominous.

People stay locked up at home, fearful of the groups of men — some in uniform, others dressed as civilians — who patrol the streets.

Despite the government’s attempts to frighten opposition supporters, thousands attended a call to gather Saturday morning along a main avenue of east Caracas.