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WORLD NEWS Saturday 17 February 2018

Leading Venezuelan opposition party shuns presidential vote

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ cently scheduled the elec-
Associated Press tion after the collapse of
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) negotiations in the Domini-
— A leading party in Ven- can Republic between the
ezuela said Friday that it government and opposi-
won’t take part in the presi- tion leaders aimed at hold-
dential election against ing a free and fair election.
President Nicolas Maduro, The Trump administration
exposing divides in the op- has said it will reject the
position coalition. “snap” election, which is
The Popular Will party said being held much earlier in
in a statement that it re- the year than is traditional
fuses to validate what it in Venezuela. More than
called the fraudulent April a dozen of Venezuela’s
22 election by participat- neighboring Latin Ameri-
ing. It is Venezuela’s third can countries have also
largest opposition party criticized the early vote,
and led by Leopoldo Lo- saying it breaks from demo-
pez, who is under house cratic norms.
arrest for organizing 2014 But not all of Venezuela’s
street protests. opposition parties appear
The decision came as a co- to share the same strategy.
alition of some 20 opposi- Henry Ramos, head of the
tion parties pushed ahead Democratic Action party,
with meetings this week- said he favors the opposi-
end aimed at reaching a tion rallying around a single Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores
unified position on whether candidate to compete presidential palace, in Caracas, Venezuela.
to participate. against Maduro. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
“We will not nominate or Ramos said the govern- they are not free they’ll lose six-year term while Venezu- Benigno Alarcon, direc-
endorse any candidate,” ment would not stand a because they aren’t legiti- ela sinks deeper into eco- tor of the Center for Politi-
Popular Will said, adding chance at winning a fair mate,” he said in a locally nomic crisis. cal Studies at Andres Bello
that doing otherwise would election and cheating televised interview. Widespread shortages of Catholic University in Ca-
be “doing the dictatorship would be obvious if the op- A divided opposition is a food and medicine have racas, said Venezuela’s
a favor.” position candidate lost. boost for Maduro, who has been driving thousands of opposition has no good
Officials loyal to Maduro’s “If the elections are free the a 20 percent popularity rat- Venezuelans to leave the choices about participat-
socialist administration re- government will lose, and if ing as he seeks a second country. ing in the election.q

Vandals torch at least 25 trucks in southern Chilean region

By PATRICIA LUNA the drivers to descend from abuses against Chile’s larg-
Associated Press their trucks before they set est indigenous group.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — At the vehicles on fire in the “The terrorist attacks in the
least 25 trucks were torched regions of Bio Bio and Ar- Araucania and Bio Bio re-
in a southern region of Chile aucania, about 430 miles gions make it more nec-
that the Mapuche indig- (700 kilometers) south of essary than ever to mod-
enous community claims the Chilean capital. Most ernize our police force,
as its ancestral territory, au- Mapuches live in peace, restructure the national
thorities said Friday. but a radical faction has intelligence system and
Burnt trucks stand on the side of a road in Los Alamos in the The Chilean equivalent of burned churches and lum- strengthen the coordina-
southern region of Bio Bio, Chile, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. the FBI said the trucks were ber trucks demanding the tion between judges and
Chilean authorities say that at least 15 trucks were torched in burned in three attacks return of land they say is prosecutors,” Chilean Presi-
a southern region that the Mapuche indigenous community against logging compa- theirs. Police have also dent-Elect Sebastian Pinera
claims as its ancestral territory.
(AP Photo/Manuel Araneda/Aton Chile) nies. Armed vandals forced been accused of violent said on Twitter.q