Valencia, Venezuela
A business leader who spearheaded a two-month strike against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was placed under house arrest this week. Carlos Fernandez, head of a powerful chamber of commerce, was charged with treason, rebellion, and other crimes. A judge threw out the treason charge, but ordered Fernandez confined while the other allegations were prosecuted. Fernandez said he was being “politically persecuted.” The strike’s participants accused Chavez of acting like a dictator, and demanded that he step down. Chavez called Fernandez a “terrorist” for leading protests that cost Venezuela an estimated $4 billion. “If it were up to me he wouldn’t be at home, he would be behind bars.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trade war with China threatens U.S. economyFeature Trump's tariff battle with China is hitting U.S. businesses hard and raising fears of a global recession
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalismFeature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
-
China Shock 2.0Feature An overflow of Chinese goods is flooding the global market. Tariffs won’t stop it.
