# Nicolas Maduro and the miracle of the multiplication of the penises



## José

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A18fXSPebuM]Multiply PENIS like breads Nicolas Maduro (multiplicar los penes y los panes) Venezuela - YouTube[/ame]


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## waltky

'Many sign' Venezuela recall petition...

*Venezuela crisis: Opposition claims big win in push to recall Maduro*
_Thu, 28 Apr 2016 - The Venezuelan opposition claims that 600,000 people have signed a petition for a recall referendum on President Nicolas Maduro._


> It is more than triple the number needed to start organizing the process.  Earlier, Mr Maduro dismissed the initiative, saying he would serve out his full mandate until 2019.  Many Venezuelans are furious because of a deep recession, food shortages and a power crisis that has cut supply to four hours a day in most cities.  Under Venezuela's constitution, presidents can be removed from office by means of a referendum once they have served half their term.
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> People participate during an event organized by the Venezuelan opposition collecting signatures as part of the process to seek a referendum to remove the president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela​
> At this earliest stage, 1% of those on the electoral roll must sign the petition to start the process.  "It's an extremely high number given that the National Electoral Board only requires a little under 200,000" signatures, said Enrique Marquez, deputy speaker of the opposition-controlled parliament.  He said the signatures would be handed over to electoral officials next week.
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> 'End anarchy'
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> Mr Maduro was sworn into office in April 2013 and is halfway through his six-year term.  Thousands of Venezuelans queued to sign the petition in the capital, Caracas.
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> Steps towards a recall referendum
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> 1. One per cent of voters on the electoral roll have to sign a petition within 30 days to kickstart the process
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> 2, Twenty per cent of voters (almost four million) have to sign a second petition in order to trigger the referendum
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> 3. For the referendum to be successful, an equal or greater number of voters than those who elected Mr Maduro would have to cast their vote in favour of the recall. Mr Maduro won the 2013 election with 7,587,579 votes
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> Miriam Leal, 54, told Agence France-Presse news agency that she was signing "to end this anarchy".  "We don't have medicine, work, education, and on top of that there is the electricity problem," she explained.  Like Ms Leal, many Venezuelans expressed their despair at the country's economic crisis which has seen inflation rise to the highest level in the world.  The oil-rich country relies almost exclusively on oil exports for its revenues and has been badly hit by the global fall in oil prices.  There are shortages of basic food items and medicines, and long queues form at supermarkets whenever some basic staple foods arrive.  A drought has also caused water levels at the country's main hydroelectric dam to drop dramatically.  Last week, President Maduro announced that power would be cut for four-hour periods daily except for in the capital, Caracas.
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> *'Democratic exit'*



See also:

*Power crisis worsens in Venezuela, citizens irked by shortening of work week*
_Thursday 28th April, 2016 – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has reportedly shortened the number of working days in a week down to two days, even as the country is grappling with the power crisis._


> The decision, which is an update on the previously declared three-working day week, has reportedly been taken by virtue of the worsening power crisis in the South American nation.  The public has reportedly reacted negatively to the imposition, with protestors lining up to sign petitions calling for the removal of the now highly unpopular President Maduro.
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> According to reports, the country’s Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz declared that government officials and public employees are to report to work on Monday and Tuesday and remain at home for the next five days in order to continue the rationing of energy.  President Maduro added that employees will receive their full salary in spite of the shortened week.
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> Venezuela's mucho grande macho man Maduro​
> In response to the imposition, employees have reportedly decided to use the days to stand in queues for food and milk, amid the blackouts that have now become frequent.  Reports state that public hospitals are to be open throughout the week, and public schools will be closed on Friday now, apart from Saturday and Sunday.
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> They added that experts, however, are not certain that the measures will positively affect the electricity crisis, seeing as 63 percent of Venezuela’s energy consumption is in residential areas.  Further, professors and academic experts are also skeptical about the decision as cutting down the required working days in schools from 200 to 150 would hurt the children’s education, and this is also a hard hit on people waiting for university degrees or official papers which have to be collected within a certain amount of working days.
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> Power crisis worsens in Venezuela citizens irked by shortening of work week


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## waltky

Maduro's popularity drops as crisis rises...

*Poll: Approval of Venezuelan Leader Drops as Crisis Bites*
_Thursday 5th May, 2016 - Just over one in four Venezuelans approves of President Nicolas Maduro's governance as a crippling economic crisis weighs on the leftist leader, according to a leading pollster._


> Venezuelans are suffering rampant shortages of products including bread and antibiotics, salary-destroying inflation, and increasingly frequent power and water cuts as the OPEC country's state-led model flounders.  Maduro, whom the opposition is vying to remove from office this year, saw his rating drop to 26.8 percent in March from 33.1 percent in February, according to a Datanalisis poll seen by Reuters.  While low compared with his charismatic mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chavez, Maduro's popularity remains above that of neighboring presidents including Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos and Brazil's Dilma Rousseff.
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> Still, some 68.9 percent of Venezuelans polled said Maduro should quit this year or be removed via a recall referendum before his term ends in 2019, up from 63.6 percent in February.  The Democratic Unity coalition has ramped up its push to oust the 53-year-old former bus driver and union leader and this week cleared one of the first hurdles towards holding a recall referendum.  Some 57.3 percent of Venezuelans said in March they would vote to remove him from office should a referendum be called, up from 52.1 percent in February, the survey showed.
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> "Senor Maduro, when are you going to get us out of this crisis?"​
> The opposition says the only way to avoid an impending economic or humanitarian disaster in Venezuela is to push out Maduro, whom they say is unwilling to correct Venezuela's economic distortions.  Maduro has scoffed at plans to remove him and ridiculed his political rivals as divided, coup-mongering elitists.  Having narrowly won a 2013 election, Maduro initially benefited from reverence towards his predecessor Chavez and the popularity of social welfare programs.  But that has waned as many poor "Chavista" supporters bear the brunt of the economic crisis.
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> Since Maduro took over, the bolivar has fallen around 98 percent against the dollar on the black market rate. Annual inflation is in triple-digits.  Polls in Venezuela are notoriously divergent and controversial, but Datanalisis has become the most closely watched by both sides.  The survey of 1,000 people was conducted from March 4 to 14 has a 3.04 percent margin of error.
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> Poll Approval of Venezuelan Leader Drops as Crisis Bites


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## waltky

'No recall vote' for Venezuela's Maduro...




*Venezuela's President Maduro 'won't face recall referendum'*
_Mon, 16 May 2016 - There will be no recall referendum against Venezuelan President Maduro, Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz says, accusing the opposition of fraud._


> Venezuela's Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz has ruled out the possibility of a recall referendum being held against President Nicolas Maduro.  "Maduro won't be ousted by a referendum because there will be no referendum," Mr Isturiz said.  Two weeks ago, opposition politicians began the process by handing in a petition signed by 1.85 million people.  But Mr Isturiz said the opposition had "acted too late, had done it wrong and had committed fraud".
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> The opposition have previously warned the referendum may be hard to push through, as they alleged that the National Electoral Council (CNE) is staffed by government loyalists.  Many Venezuelans blame Mr Maduro for the economic crisis the country is experiencing.  Its economy contracted by 5.7% last year and is expected to shrink further this year. Inflation is at 180%, according to official figures, and there are shortages of medicines and basic food items.
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> President Nicolas Maduro (L) speaks with Venezuela"s Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz during a rally against the opposition"s amnesty law at Miraflores Palace in Caracas​
> Steps towards a recall referendum
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> *  1% of voters on the electoral roll have to sign a petition within 30 days to kick-start the process
> *  20% of voters (almost four million) have to sign a second petition in order to trigger the referendum on Mr Maduro
> *  For the referendum to be successful, an equal or greater number of voters than those who elected Mr Maduro would have to cast their vote in favour of the recall. Mr Maduro won the 2013 election with 7,587,579 votes
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> On Friday, President Maduro declared a state of emergency to "denounce, neutralize and overcome the external and foreign aggressions against our country", which he blames for Venezuela's economic problems.  Mr Maduro did not specify what powers the state of emergency would give him except to say it would offer Venezuelans "fuller, more comprehensive protection".
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> *Timing is key*


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## waltky

Maduro playin' dirty...




*Venezuelan public workers to be fired if they support Maduro recall*
_Aug. 24, 2016  -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration vowed to fire high-ranking government employees who supported the opposition's presidential recall referendum efforts Wednesday._


> Mayor of Caracas Jorge Rodríguez, a leading member of Maduro's ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and head of a signature-verification commission established by Maduro's government during the opposition's recall efforts, on Monday said high-ranking employees who do not support late former President Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution will be fired if they do not resign by Wednesday.  "In the public administration we cannot have as managers people who don't support the revolution," Rodríguez said during a press conference. "They have a period of 48 hours to make sure workers in trusted positions, in leadership roles, find other jobs."
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> Rodríguez said he would disclose the names of employees who supported the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition's petition efforts to oust Maduro to relevant ministers and public companies. Venezuelan law, which offers wide-ranging protections to most employees, states that employees who hold managerial positions can be fired without reason.  Venezuela has up to 3 million public employees and about half are temporary employees whose jobs depend on contract renewals. The opposition is working to hold the recall referendum, in which Venezuelans will be asked whether Maduro should be removed from the presidency, by the end of the year.
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> Maduro's approval ratings are usually below 20 percent -- at times dipping into single digits -- meaning the likelihood of his removal is high if a recall referendum is held.  The opposition coalition will need to collect signatures from 20 percent, or about 4 million, of the voting-eligible population within three days to trigger the referendum.  Democratic Unity Roundtable leader Jesus "Chuo" Torrealba in a Venezuelan radio program said Rodríguez's statements amount to "blackmail and extortion."  "It's a violation of the constitutional right to express one's political opinions," Torrealba said.
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> Venezuelan public workers to be fired if they support Maduro recall



See also:

*Venezuela's Maduro seeks to cut funds to opposition-controlled parliament*
_Aug. 3, 2016  -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked the Comptroller General and the Supreme Court to block resources to the opposition-controlled National Assembly._


> Maduro on Tuesday said he wants to block the National Assembly's access to public funds because it is operating "outside the law." The unicameral parliament became majority-controlled by the Democratic Unity Roundtable, or MUD, opposition coalition after historic elections in December that soundly defeated Maduro's socialist government.  On Monday, Venezuela's National Electoral Council, or CNE, confirmed the opposition coalition gathered enough signatures to move to the second phase of a recall process against Maduro. The MUD is working to hold a recall referendum, in which Venezuelans will be asked whether Maduro should be removed from the presidency by the end of the year.
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> During a televised address on Tuesday, Maduro said he would seek to cut off the parliament from public funds in reference to the swearing in of three opposition lawmakers. In late December, Venezuela's supreme court -- the Supreme Tribunal of Justice -- suspended the three coalition members and one pro-government member who were elected to the National Assembly pending an investigation of allegations of electoral fraud.  Venezuelan constitutional experts disagree on the circumstances surrounding the suspension and whether the three should be allowed to serve in the legislature during the election investigation. The high court has been repeatedly criticized as acting as an extension of the socialist regime established under former President Hugo Chavez.
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> The suspension removes the opposition coalition's two-thirds super-majority, which would enable it to remove judges from the supreme court, particularly after the outgoing United Socialist Party of Venezuela -- led by Maduro -- was accused of stacking the court before the change of power.  The opposition has now twice sworn in the suspended members, an act Venezuelan Attorney General Reinaldo Muñoz deemed "absolutely unconstitutional and unlawful."
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> Maduro suggested the National Assembly does not exist.  "For the National Assembly being outside the law, as head of the National Treasury, I cannot deposit resources to a nonexistent National Assembly," Maduro said. "I cannot use public resources in institutions that flout and call for the contempt of laws."  The Venezuelan president said workers employed within the parliament would receive salaries directly if parliament is cut off financially.
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> Venezuela's Maduro seeks to cut funds to opposition-controlled parliament



Related:

*Maduro's government seeks to ban Venezuelan opposition over 'gigantic' fraud*
_July 27, 2016  -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration on Tuesday petitioned the national election commission to ban the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition, saying it committed fraud in its recall referendum efforts._


> Jorge Rodríguez, a member of Maduro's ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, mayor of Caracas and head of a signature-verification commission established by Maduro's government during the opposition's presidential recall efforts, filed a petition with the National Electoral Council, asking the council to cancel the political registration of the opposition coalition, known as the MUD.  Earlier this year, the opposition submitted more than 1.8 million signatures to the council, known as the CNE as part of a petition process seeking to activate a recall referendum. Just 200,000 signatures were needed.
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> After completing the first phase of the petition process, the opposition is waiting for the CNE to provide the necessary documents to move ahead with the final phase. The MUD will need to collect signatures from 20 percent, or about 4 million, of Venezuela's voting-eligible population within three days.  Reaching that final phase has proved difficult. The opposition is working to hold the recall referendum, in which Venezuelans will be asked whether Maduro should be removed from the presidency, by the end of the year.  The MUD have accused the CNE of attempting to hinder the opposition's efforts to recall Maduro. The opposition has held massive nationwide protests over the cause.
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> The petition to ban the MUD is based on accusations of fraud related to more than 300,000 petition signatures, Rodríguez said.  "It is public, it is known, it is communicated and it is fully demonstrated that the ... MUD incurred the most gigantic fraud which has been known in the political and electoral history of Venezuela," Rodriguez said Tuesday outside of the CNE's headquarters, adding that "307,747 signatures did not meet one or more technical criteria; and 53,658 of those are very serious irregularities; for example 10,995 people dead, 9,333 identification numbers that are nonexistent, 1,335 politically disqualified for being convicted of felonies and 3,003 under the age of 18."
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> Maduro's approval ratings are usually below 20 percent -- at times dipping into single digits -- meaning the likelihood of his removal is high if a recall referendum is held.  "The CNE must, is obliged, at the request of the Ministry of Interior or a political party, to attend immediately and expeditiously the cancellation of the registration of the MUD," Rodríguez added.
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> Maduro's government seeks to ban Venezuelan opposition over 'gigantic' fraud


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## waltky

Obama administration upset over Venezuela's jailing of opposition leader...




*U.S. 'deeply disturbed' over Venezuela's jailing of opposition leader*
_Aug. 29, 2016  -- The U.S. Department of State said it is "deeply disturbed' by the decision of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration to jail opposition leader Daniel Ceballos, the former mayor of San Cristobal._


> Ceballos is one of several opposition leaders, including Leopoldo Lopez, arrested in early 2014 and accused of corruption and of inciting violent anti-government protests in which 43 people died -- both government supporters and opponents.  Ceballos was later released from jail to serve in house arrest due to kidney problems but he was rearrested and sent to prison on Saturday ahead of a planned nationwide opposition rally scheduled for Thursday. Authorities initially told Ceballos and his wife he was being taken for a medical exam.
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> The jailing of Ceballos has been criticized by the United States and human rights groups. Venezuela's Interior Ministry said he was jailed because authorities believed he was going to flee the country.  "The United States is deeply disturbed by the Venezuelan government's decision to move opposition leader Daniel Ceballos from house arrest to prison," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "Mr. Ceballos' transfer to prison represents an effort to intimidate and impede the Venezuelan people's right to peacefully express their opinion September 1. We condemn it and call for Mr. Ceballos' immediate release."
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> Venezuela's former mayor of San Cristobal, Daniel Ceballos, seen here signing a referendum petition seeking to establish a recall against President Nicolas Maduro, was jailed on Saturday by Venezuelan authorities. Ceballos was under house arrest after previously being released due to medical concerns​
> Kirby said rule of law in Venezuela has been "degraded to an alarming degree."  "There is no place in a democratic society for employing the instruments of the state to bully, intimidate, and silence the political opposition," Kirby added.
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> Amnesty International said the move was an attempt to silence the opposition.  "Authorities in Venezuela seem to be willing to stop at nothing in their quest to prevent anyone from criticizing them, particularly as the political and humanitarian situation in the country continues to deteriorate," Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International's Americas director, said in a statement.
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> U.S. 'deeply disturbed' over Venezuela's jailing of opposition leader



See also:

*Nicolas Maduro: U.S. launching 'imperialist attack' on Latin American left*
_Aug. 29,`16 -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has likened the killing of a Bolivian minister and the impeachment on Brazil's president to an U.S. "imperialist attack."_


> Maduro said the imperialist attack is a plan to destabilize the leftist governments of South America.  "It's an imperialist attack against all," Maduro said during a pro-government rally in Caracas. "From Venezuela we will fight the coup of the oligarchy."
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> Maduro said the recent alleged destabilization efforts are similar to the Cold War's Operation Condor, in which the U.S. government partly supported some right-wing dictatorships in South America in order to repress left-wing movements that were perceived as communist.
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> The Venezuelan head of state has often accused the United States of working against the socialist government left behind by late former President Hugo Chavez. Maduro accuses the United States of supporting the Venezuelan opposition and corporations as part of an "economic war" against his administration.  "Venezuela has lived hours of anguish and pain that we can't afford to live again," Maduro said. "In order to maintain and build our freedom and our independence, to not be slaves any more of the Yankee empire."
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> Maduro's comments follow the death of Bolivian deputy interior minister Rodolfo Illanes, who was killed by striking miners who kidnapped him, and amid the Brazilian impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff.
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> Nicolas Maduro: U.S. launching 'imperialist attack' on Latin American left


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## waltky

Maduro gonna crackdown on protestors...




*Venezuela's Maduro vows crackdown on protest violence*
_August 30, 2016 • Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed Tuesday to jail opposition leaders if they incite violence at upcoming protests to pressure authorities to allow a referendum on removing him from power._


> Maduro, whose opponents blame him for a devastating economic crisis, accused opposition leaders of plotting a "terrorist coup" against him ahead of Thursday's nationwide protests.  "We must defeat the coup d'etat without impunity. Whoever gets involved in a coup plot, or calls for violence, is going to jail, sir. Shriek, weep or scream, but you're going to jail," he told supporters at a rally in Caracas billed as an early counter-demonstration.
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> Members of the Venezuelan opposition shout slogans during a march to demand electoral power to activate the recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas​
> Maduro accused the United States of plotting against leftist governments in Latin America.  "The threat is coming directly from American imperialism," he said.  One opposition figure, Yon Goicoechea, was arrested on charges of possessing explosives he allegedly planned to detonate at the upcoming protests.  Opposition lawmaker Tomas Guanipa said the authorities had planted evidence against Goicoechea.  "Even if you throw us all in jail, you won't stop the people from taking to the streets to fight for democratic, electoral and peaceful change," he said.
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> Venezuelan National Assembly lawmakers vote during a session in Caracas, Venezuela. When Venezuela's opposition lawmakers took over congress in January, they vowed it was the beginning of the end for President Nicolas Maduro. But Maduro has since managed to almost completely sideline the legislature, and now the ruling socialist party is talking about shutting it down altogether.​
> The protests are the first since electoral authorities indicated it was too late to organize a recall vote this year -- infuriating the opposition, which wants a referendum by January in order to trigger new elections.  With Venezuela hit by shortages of food, medicine and basic goods, the opposition coalition behind the referendum, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), insists that getting rid of Maduro's socialist government is the only way out of the crisis.
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> People stand in line as they gather at a validation center during Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) second phase of verifying signatures for a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas​
> Venezuela's Catholic Church called on the government to allow Thursday's protests to go ahead freely.  The journalists' union meanwhile said conditions are difficult for the press ahead of the demos.  Masked attackers threw Molotov cocktails and flaming excrement at the offices of opposition-leaning newspaper El Nacional on Tuesday, and authorities denied entry on Monday to a team of reporters from Al Jazeera TV.
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> Venezuela's Maduro vows crackdown on protest violence


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## waltky

Venezuelan protestors protest Maduro tryin' to stop demonstration...




*Venezuela regime accused of intimidation, halting transportation ahead of protest*
_Aug. 31, 2016 -- The Venezuelan opposition has accused President Nicolas Maduro's regime of political intimidation for carrying out arrests and prohibiting transport ahead of a planned protests in Caracas._


> In Venezuela's Táchira state, at least 120 people were not allowed to leave on a private charter bus because Venezuela's Ministry of Transportation did not authorize the trip on Tuesday.  Gustavo Gandica, secretary general of the Justice First Táchira opposition party, said the Maduro administration's decision to "not to let us travel to Caracas is a sign of the fear that this government has that people speak in the streets."  Gandica vowed to reach Caracas for the opposition's demonstration, the "Taking of Caracas" protest.  In the Zulia state's capital of Maracaibo -- Venezuela's second-largest city -- the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition organized about 10,000 people to travel to Caracas. In Maracaibo's bus terminal, tickets to Caracas were no longer being sold. The police presence at the terminal has increased and people attempting to travel for the protest have been intimidated by authorities, El Pitazo reported.
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> The opposition has accused the Maduro regime of arresting its members for political reasons ahead of the protest, including the recent arrests of opposition activist Yon Goicoechea and Daniel Ceballos, the former mayor of San Cristobal.  Venezuela's National Union of Press Workers on Monday said that three Al Jazeera journalists sent to report about the demonstration were detained and were set to be deported back to the country from which they arrived, Colombia.
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> The opposition says the Maduro administration's recent decree to ban private aircraft and drones until Monday is an attempt to prevent the recording of the visual impact of the opposition's protest. The opposition vowed that millions of people would take to the streets of Caracas.  "The 'Taking of Caracas' will be the beginning of a new era of mass demonstrations," opposition leader Tomás Guanipa said, adding that the government "is desperate to avoid" so many people gathering in Caracas.
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> Opposition leaders have stressed that Thursday's demonstration will be peaceful but Interior and Justice Minister Gen. Nestor Reverol -- who was recently indicted in the United States on cocaine trafficking charges -- said government intelligence suggests there could be acts of "violence and destabilization."  Reverol has authorized security personnel to use weapons and toxic substances, such as tear gas, to repel violent protesters in order to assume the "constitutional responsibility to defend and protect the people."  Maduro's administration has said Thursday's protest is a coup d'etat attempt facilitated by the United States.
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> Venezuela regime accused of intimidation, halting transportation ahead of protest


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## waltky

Call it Venezuela’s own birther movement...




*Venezuelan Opposition Tries 'Birther' Tack Against President Nicolás Maduro*
_Nov. 5, 2016 - Foes cite evidence disqualifying leader as Colombian; backers say his salsa skills prove he is all Venezuelan_


> Desperate to end 18 years of Socialist rule, Venezuela’s opposition movement is trying to undermine embattled President Nicolás Maduro by claiming he has Colombian citizenship.  The opposition has tried everything to wrest power, from a coup attempt in 2002 to its effort this year to stage a recall referendum on Mr. Maduro. Some lawmakers in the opposition-controlled Congress are playing one last card: trying to prove that Mr. Maduro was either born in Colombia or never renounced the Colombian nationality that by law is automatically granted to him because his mother, Teresa de Jesús Moros, was born there, in the border city of Cúcuta.  “Venezuelans are clamoring for the president to show us his birth certificate,” said Dennis Fernández, an opposition congresswoman who since February has led a legislative commission investigating Mr. Maduro’s origins. Venezuela’s constitution says only native-born citizens with no other nationalities can be head of state.
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> Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro dancing the salsa, an ability his supporters cite as evidence of his being a bona fide Venezuelan​
> The Supreme Court, whose members are closely allied with the president, recently ruled that Mr. Maduro was born here and doesn’t hold another nationality, citing “incontrovertible documents” that weren’t specified or provided.  A lack of clarity has fueled the opposition’s drive, since Mr. Maduro has never made a birth certificate public. The president says he was born in a working-class neighborhood of Caracas, but he and his allies have publicly named at least three different districts of the capital as birthplaces.  The president’s associates point to his allegedly innate Venezuela-ness as proof. “He dances salsa like no other and he plays the drums,” Elías Jaua, a top ruling party official, told Spanish television in 2013.
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> On state television, Mr. Maduro busts salsa moves his backers suggest no Colombian could pull off. And this week, he launched a new radio program called “The Salsa Hour,” which he will occasionally host.  “We’re all the descendants of a process of fusion of rhythm and culture,” Mr. Maduro said. Left out of the discussion is that Colombians, too, dance salsa and play drums.  Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council and a staunch defender of Mr. Maduro, calls speculation on his origins “a cybernetic fantasy of social networks.” But in April, she noted that Mr. Maduro never presented his birth certificate when he ran for office because the election authorities only require a national ID card.  Mr. Maduro’s office didn’t respond to calls seeking comment. But he has joked about the birther movement in the past, recently saying, “If I had been born in Cúcuta or in Bogotá I’d be a happy person because that’s the land of Bolívar,” referring to the founding father of both Venezuela and Colombia.
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> Mr. Maduro, left, greeting supporters at a pro-government rally in Caracas late last month.​
> For the opposition, though, it is no laughing matter.  Ms. Fernández, the opposition lawmaker, has sent investigative teams to Colombia, where they turned up documents showing that Mr. Maduro’s mother was born in Cúcuta and baptized at San Antonio de Padua church.  In Cúcuta, some older residents say they remember a young Mr. Maduro spending holidays with his aunt, Ema Moros. Her old green-painted house now sits abandoned with rusted locks.  Walter Cardona, 56, still remembers a young Mr. Maduro joining in pickup games of soccer. “He’d go on Saturdays to the pitch,” he said. “He’d talk when he wanted to play, but nothing more.”
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> Venezuelan Opposition Tries ‘Birther’ Tack Against President Nicolás Maduro


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