ABSTRACT
In 2014, Venezuela was gripped by street demonstrations against the government of Chavez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro. There were large marches in the capital. However, these marches were overtaken by barricades erected by some demonstrators. The guarimbas, as they were called, sparked a global social media storm. The Latin American Bureau detailed how huge numbers of images of police and military violence against protesters from the Syrian Civil War, the Arab Spring or demonstrations in Chile were being circulated on social media, often with thousands of retweets and shares, purporting to be images of government repression of human rights in Venezuela (Bracchi Roa, 2014). Pop stars like Cher and Madonna tweeted using the opposition’s “SOSVenezuela” and “PrayforVenezuela” hashtags, while actor Kevin Spacey called for US intervention on his blog. The guarimbas flared up in February and had largely petered out by March, but some continued throughout the year.
