Squatters Grab Venezuela Opposition Party Office Amid Crackdown

Squatters protected by pro-government militia and soldiers took over a Caracas office of a Venezuelan opposition party, as President Nicolas Maduro cracks down on opponents amid a deepening economic crisis. About 24 families occupied the Montral building owned by the Christian Democratic Party in northern Caracas around 3 a.m. local time Monday, Antonio Ecarri, metropolitan area head of the party known as Copei said in an interview outside the edifice. Four party employees remain in the building, he said. The occupation comes days after armed intelligence police stormed the office of the capital’s opposition mayor, Antonio Ledezma. The public prosecutor charged Ledezma on Friday with organizing a coup and sent him to a military jail housing two other opposition leaders being tried on similar charges. More…