Venezuelans mourn opposition figure, US calls out Caracas
Caracas, Oct 10, 2018 (AFP) Hundreds of Venezuelans demanded justice Wednesday at the funeral of an opposition activist who died in government custody, as the United States called out Caracas for its "involvement" in his death.
Fernando Alban, a 52-year-old Caracas city council member accused of taking part in a failed drone attack on President Nicolas Maduro, was in pretrial detention Monday at the time of his death.
Authorities say he committed suicide by jumping from a 10th-floor window of the headquarters of the state intelligence service after asking to go to the bathroom.
But his supporters say he was murdered.
Alban was buried in a cemetery in the eastern part of the capital after mourners walked for several kilometers (miles) in a funeral procession that began at the central university of Venezuela.
"Maduro's dictatorship is death," said one placard held by a young man. "Justice!" another said.
The United States joined the chorus of complaint from the international community over Alban's death -- and pointed the finger of blame at Maduro.
"The United States condemns the Maduro regime's involvement in the death of Venezuelan opposition councilman Fernando Alban," the White House said in a statement.
"The Trump administration will continue to increase pressure on the Maduro regime and its insiders until democracy is restored in Venezuela," it added.
"The United States calls for the immediate release of all Venezuelan political prisoners, and for the Maduro regime to take direct, credible steps to reestablish democracy in Venezuela and to prevent further suffering and bloodshed."
Both the United Nations and the European Union have called for an investigation into Alban's death.
On Wednesday, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who is close to Maduro, again dismissed the idea of an assassination.
"He died from blunt force trauma linked to the fall... there is no evidence of mistreatment prior to the fall," Saab told reporters, reading from an autopsy report.
Alban was among at least 15 people arrested and charged for alleged participation in the August 4 drone incident, which Maduro has portrayed as an assassination attempt.
The Venezuelan president was seen reacting on live television to an off-camera explosion while he addressed a military parade in Caracas.
A second explosion was heard and then the assembled troops were seen breaking formation and scattering in panic.
Maduro said the blasts were from explosives-laden drones sent to assassinate him, though opposition figures accuse Maduro of fabricating the incident to step up repression in his country, which is mired in a deep economic crisis.
President Donald Trump, who has previously shown little interest in Latin America beyond trade relations and border issues with Mexico, is increasingly focusing on Venezuela.
The administration is ramping up criticism of Maduro, whose authoritarian socialist government is struggling to manage the fallout from economic collapse in the once wealthy country, whose leaders are under US sanctions.
Maduro, meanwhile, accuses the United States of manipulating the opposition in his country and seeking to oust him.
