Venezuelans are bracing for yet another wave of repression as strongman leader Nicolas Maduro prepares to be inaugurated for a third time on Friday – sealing an election outcome that opposition politicians and the US government say was stolen. In recent days, the government has deployed a show of force ahead of the inauguration, increasing the number of policemen and security officers on the street and detaining dozens of people across the country, including a former presidential candidate, according to human rights advocates. The climate of fear is palpable on social media, with the Instagram account of Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency recently posting a video of a hand knocking on a door in the middle of the night – a message suggestive of the kinds of retaliation critics might encounter. Maduro and his allies are “showing they are not going to tolerate any dissent, and people are scared,” the diplomat…
