Venezuelan Government Issues Arrest for Opposition Leader Henrique Capriles

The Venezuelan government issued an arrest order for opposition leader Henrique Capriles late last night, according to reports from a Spanish news publication. This follows opposition demands of a vote recount under suspicion of voter fraud, which has led to civil unrest and 7 reported deaths.

Capriles is now technically a fugitive, all because he asked for a recount following the most narrow election victory in decades. Maduro initially agreed to the recount, since Capriles guaranteed foul play in the election.

Now it seems Maduro no longer needs the recount. In fact, Venezuela’s Supreme Court now declares that a recount isn’t even legally required. Judge Luisa Morales, who facilitated Maduro’s entrance as interim president a few months back, insists that a manual count is impossible, due to Venezuela’s mostly electronic voting system, even though each vote produces a paper receipt.

In addition, Diosdado Cabello, head of the National Assembly, conducted a hearing today in which he asked opposition members if they recognized Maduro as the president. Those who declined were denied the right to speak and were thrown out of the hearing.

Systematic electoral corruption in Venezuela isn’t necessarily news. In fact, arresting Capriles wouldn’t be news either, considering he’s already been arrested for belonging to the opposition. However, things will get interested the more this becomes a world issue. The question is, will this help or hinder Venezuela's path to freedom?