The ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the United States, Carlos Vecchio, led the demonstration of Venezuelans in the city of Miami, who responded to the call of Interim President Juan Guaidó and protested against Nicolás Maduro’s criminal dictatorship.
In front of the Consulate General of Venezuela in Brickell, at least a hundred Venezuelans raised their voice of protest to demand the exit of Maduro’s regime, which would allow free and transparent elections.
Ambassador Vecchio asked his compatriots to “maintain the determination to fight. Today I have enough elements to affirm that we are on the verge of an outcome in Venezuela and it is key to maintain national pressure on the streets of Venezuela and international pressure to achieve an exit of Maduro’s criminal dictatorship. That is not going to happen alone, we have to maintain the determination and unification of the democratic forces with the accompaniment of the international community. That’s the only way to go,” he said.
Activists from Nicaragua, Peru and Colombia joined the protest. Using recent events in Bolivia, Vecchio called on the international community to move forward together and collectively to stop the expansion of the criminal dictatorship of Maduro and Cuba in the region, as well as to free Nicargua, Cuba and Venezuela.
“We have insisted that we are not fighting against a classic dictatorship, we are facing a criminal organization that works with drug trafficking and international terrorism, with Hezbollah, the ELN, the dissidence of the FARC, with the backing of Cuba and Russia. Faced with this, the international community must make fewer declarations and resolutions and take more decisive actions to stop what has ceased to be a threat and become a reality that affects the entire Western Hemisphere,” the diplomat said.
He highlighted the work of all Venezuelans inside and outside Venezuela. After offering a brief balance of the government’s performance in which he specified achievements such as humanitarian aid for Venezuelans throughout the continent, the continued pressure from the United States against the dictatorship, the protection of assets such as CITGO and measures such as the extension of the validity of passports expired by Venezuelans abroad, he said that the Embassy is working with the U.S. authorities in a mechanism that provides migratory tranquility to Venezuelans.
“We need to have our people calm and focused so that they can be key pieces of this fight against the dictatorship from here, so that they can help us to exert pressure in all instances and be ambassadors for the humanitarian and freedom cause of Venezuela,” he added.
The activity was attended by the Special Commissioner for Security and Intelligence of the Venezuelan Embassy, Ivan Simonovis; the Director of Venezuelans Abroad of the interim government, Oscar Lopez; deputies in exile from the National Assembly and leaders of political and social organizations that promote the struggle from the United States. The mayor of the City of Miami, Francis Suarez, joined the protest.
Vecchio ratified that all Venezuelans must maintain confidence in the leadership of President Guaidó to achieve the goal: “I want to make it very clear that there is only one route here: stop the usurpation and then hold free and transparent elections, there are no elections if Maduro remains in power. The only possible election is a presidential election without Maduro in power, in freedom. That is the struggle that we are fighting together with President Juan Guaidó and we must remain in the streets in this new stage that incorporates important social sectors such as health, education and the student movement to defeat the dictatorship and have a Free Venezuela.”
Ambassador Vecchio reiterated that “this will be the shortest position I have ever held, today Bolivia is free and Venezuela continues to be free. Soon I will return crossing the Simón Bolívar bridge, which will be the bridge of the return of freedom. Long live the great free and democratic homeland.”
In addition to Miami, the Venezuelan community also responded to President Guaidó’s call in Orlando, Tampa, New York, Houston, Corpus Christi, El San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Detroit, Portland, among others.
