During a press conference on Tuesday, Minister of Penitentiary Services Iris Varela told opposition candidate Henrique Capriles that her agency would be "saving a cell" for him, adding, "I guarantee that in jail no one will touch you." Varela called him the "intellectual author" of the deaths of eight people during post-election protests and said that she hoped in prison he would rid himself of his "fascist thoughts," according to El Universal.
The opposition leader had previously called his supporters to take to the streets in a "cacerolazo" - a banging of pots and pans - in a symbolic gesture meant to "drown out" the electoral council's certification that Nicolás Maduro had won the presidency of Venezuela. In addition to the eight deaths, well over a hundred people have been injured in the protests, which continued all last week. Both sides have accused each other of being responsible. Capriles had previously called for protests to remain peaceful and called them off after they turned violent.
Capriles and his supporters dispute the election results, claiming to have evidence of more than 3,200 irregularities in voting procedures. A full audit of the votes was eventually granted and is taking place now, even as Maduro was sworn in last Friday. The US State Department backed Capriles' demand, saying it would not recognize the election results unless a recount took place.
In addition to calling Capriles a "fascist" and "murderer", Varela made reference to an earlier attack on Capriles from a Maduro campaign official who challenged the candidate to take a toxicological exam to test for "illicit psychoactive substances" (Capriles struck back by saying he would as soon as Maduro submitted to a lie detector test).
"Stop taking drugs," said Varela, "don't keep on taking drugs, because that's taking you down the wrong road." She added, "You've got a bad habit and you know it."
El Universal wrote that the minister made her declaration just after the government authorized the transmission on radio and television which spliced shots of street violence with those of Capriles calling for protests against the electoral results and demanding a recount.
"Capriles Radonski ... you're the one responsible and the intellectual author, they won't get away with it, the only good news you can have is that the cell that is waiting for you won't be like the cells we inherited in '98," Varela said.
The minister gave the press conference after being re-ratified as one of 17 members of Maduro's cabinet. She was first appointed to her position in July 2011.
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