I have no idea what the legal issues are with translating and reposting but I'm just going to continue this practice until somebody tells me it's not ok anymore.
There is a quite powerful account in today's Noticiero Digital of the events of this past weekend's protest against the new education law, which notably culminated in President Chávez praising Colonel Benavides Torres for having stifled an assembly of protesters that included women and the elderly. There are apparently numerous videos of this which I will resume searching for shortly (if anyone else can aid me in this I would be much obliged). In the meantime, my translation of the Noticiero Digital article in question follows (Photo: AFP):
It was early, 10:50 am on Saturday, I came out of a meeting in the center of the city, and since I was on a motorcycle taxi, I decided to return by Metro from the station of La Hoyada. On the way to the station, about six blocks, I remembered what my friends who have been present in concentrations of government have always claimed: the people are done with Chávez, but they are obligated to him.
I walked into patches of red flannel, they were passing before the ministries, public agencies, PDVSA and many others. From official vehicles all kinds of supplies were available, I stopped at a kiosk to buy a bottle of water and the saleswoman told me "take off that cap, something could happen to you." A young lady from the Minfra responded, "he is not required to carry it, we, the public employees went and are required to be here."
I went to the approved march, with family and neighbors, to protest the Communist Law of Education, to protest against the closure of radio stations, to show dissatisfaction with the neglect of the health system ...
At 1:50 pm we came into contact with the front row of the Metropolitan Police, it was raining and the smell of tear gas was in the air going in a south-to-north direction. We reached the first row, where young people, women, elders and political leaders were protesting to the security agencies for police violence and violation of human rights, decried the fierce assaults and criminal attacks against unarmed civilians expressing with all their voices their rejection of political terrorism by the government.
There in the front row with a clean voice, national flag in hand, chests lined with flannel of the students, NGOs, civil society. I was glad to see on the front line the vigilante political leaders, ABEP, AD, Copei, Bandera Roja, Podemos and overall the always courageous Venezuelan people. The face of the demonstrators reflected neither fear nor hatred. There is now a steadfast determination to fight for democracy and justice.
The revolution is over, the communist government enters the terminal phase of dying regimes, repression, violation of human rights, mass propaganda.
As we talked to the police an official approached us, armored for combat against unarmed civilians, and said, "the order has come that at any cost this assembly of people must be dissolved, so it is best that you go"; we asked why is this so, he answered that "these are orders from above, the President is going to the protest in the center and the minister wants no one here at this hour." True or false, that is what the voice behind the helmet said.
Not a minute passed when the attack began, led by Colonel Benavides Torres, an attack launched with a musical background. It was a massive violation of human rights, left people in a very bad state, at our side an old man fell on a sewer grate, the police passed him by shooting and releasing more tear gas. The old man was rescued after firefighters assisted. The march had a permit until 3 pm, the final assault began around 2 pm.
At 2:30 in the afternoon we walked down a narrow street complaining of the violence from the police and the government. In the metro station Colegio de Ingenieros, it was a disaster, the government's repressive forces attacked the people and the subway station with gas. They did not respect women, children or elderly. The images that travel around the world are true, in Venezuela there is political terrorism from the state. The President congratulated the Colonel Benavides Torres.
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