María Corina Machado Blocked From Returning To Parliament Among Renewed Violence in Caracas

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been blocked from returning to Venezuela's National Assembly amidst the eruption of violence in Caracas. Ms. Machado's removal from the Assembly was overturned last night by the Supreme Court, resulting in Ms. Machado announcing that she would resume her legislative responsibilities. However, clashes between government forces and opposition leaders led to violent outbursts throughout Caracas.

María Corina Machado gave a speech at the Plaza Brión de Chacaíto, insisting that she would continue her role as Representative for which she was elected in 2010. "Today is a dark day for our republic, because the powers that be have been in cahoots. Today it is not only the democracy in Venezuela that has been destroyed. With this action, the entire republic has been dismantled," she said, refering to the action taken by the government in removing her from the Nationa Assembly.

María Corina Machado revealed that all her actions since the protests began on February 12th were "inspired by the call to action from the students. We took on the most transcendental cause in the life of a human being. Why do they want to silence me? Why do they want to do it today? Becuase they are afraid of the truth and they are afraid of the people," said the stateswoman in calling for the resignation of the District Attorney Luisa Ortega Díaz. Following the speech, the National Guard dispersed the manifestation with tear gas - Machado was barely able to take a step towards congress.