CARACAS: As part of the annual Easter “burning of Judas” ceremonies, a four-headed mannequin bearing the likenesses of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Russian President Vladimir Putin was set ablaze on Sunday.

On Easter Sunday, it is traditional in Venezuela to incinerate an effigy of Judas Iscariot, the biblical character who is said to have betrayed Jesus.

This practise has evolved over the years to give this image the appearance of a politician or a person who is despised.

The names of Carmen Melendez, Caracas’ mayor, and Nestor Reverol, the city’s minister of electricity energy, were all emblazoned on the burnt figure in the Candelaria district, which is a working-class area of the city.

In front of about 30 protesters holding anti-government signs, local resident Carlos Julio Rojas lighted a mannequin and declared, “We’re burning betrayal, torture, dictatorship, and war.”

“The children of Vladimir Putin: Maduro, Melendez, and Reverol,” said Rojas.

For being “the reflection of the betrayal of Caracas, Venezuela, and the world,” the four of them were sentenced to death.

One of the main cornerstones of the dictatorship in Venezuela is Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which “we see,” added Rojas, alluding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The same streets where anti-government protestors were shot and died in 2014 were used to burn the mocked up figure.

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