As the opposition mobilizes for a recall referendum, Chavistas rallied in Caracas against imperialism as well as to commemorate African and Indigenous resistance.
Lucía Martínez, wife of murdered indigenous Yukpa chief Sabino Romero, demands that Venezuela's Public Prosecution indict the wealthy cattle ranchers alleged to have hired the assassins.
The statue of Guaicaipuro was unveiled in the early hours this Monday morning in Plaza Venezuela in Caracas, where an effigy of Italian colonial invader, Christopher Columbus, was previously toppled by activists on Indigenous Resistance Day 2004.
Movements gathered in Caracas on Monday to demand a 30 year sentence for Sabino Romero´s murderer. They also denounced a lack of media coverage of the case, as well as the increasing presence of Colombian paramilitaries and drugs traffickers on Yukpa territory.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro marked the day of indigenous resistance by handing over more titles to collective ownership of indigenous lands on Sunday. But the struggle for recognition, fertile land, and against illegal mining continues for Venezuela's indigenous communities.
Yanomami Indians from Brazil and Venezuela met last month in Venezuela to discuss indigenous rights and national policies. Government officials from both countries, indigenous organizations and NGOs working with the Yanomami also attended.
Following the murder of indigenous Yukpa leader Sabino Romero three weeks ago, a committee of 17 Yukpa met yesterday with the minister for foreign affairs, Elias Jaua, who promised to make payments so their lands could be inhabited by them.
