U.S. must do more to aid Venezuela

Venezuela used to commemorate National Youth Day on Feb. 12 in recognition of the hundreds of students who reversed the course of the Battle of La Victoria against Spanish forces in 1812. But the holiday has new meaning since February 2014 when, inspired by those historical events, thousands of students took to the streets in peaceful demonstrations against the regime of President Nicolás Maduro. Demanding democratic reforms, as well as measures to cope with a worsening economic climate, students were met with iron-fisted repression by the regime’s security apparatus. Peaceful streets were swarmed with National Guard officers who, often alongside regime-backed colectivos, shot protesters with live ammunition in a state-driven offensive to silence opponents. More…