Military personnel and police officers in Venezuela have defied orders from their political leaders to suppress protests; instead, they removed their uniforms and joined the demonstrators.
In a striking act of solidarity, Venezuelan police officers and military personnel publicly stripped off their uniforms, refusing to adhere to government directives to quell the protests. They stood in unity with the people, joining the growing chorus of resistance against the oppressive regime.
Thousands of protesters filled the streets of central Caracas, with many citizens trekking for miles from the slums in the surrounding mountains toward the presidential palace, opposing the electoral victory claimed by President Nicolás Maduro in the general elections.
The opposition asserted that “it was clear that its candidate, Edmundo González, had won convincingly” after reviewing the votes.
