Far from Caracas a group of American activists have been defending the sovereignty of Venezuela from inside its embassy in Washington. The state department ordered all Maduro loyal staff to leave the building by April 24th to make way for Guaido’s diplomats. Juan Guaido declared himself president of Venezuela on January 23rd with full support from the United States but most Venezuelan diplomats and military officials have remained loyal to Maduro. According to Ariel Gold, National Co-Director of the antiwar activist group CODEPINK they have been maintaining a 24/7 presence at the embassy since April 14th to prevent Guaido’s appointed diplomats from taking over the embassy.
"We’ve been working with the embassy staff ever since the coup began. As they started to reduce the staff we’ve had some educational events here then we finally made a decision that we should be there. And they said to us you are welcome, you are there with our permission." Gold told me over the phone Monday night from the embassy.
Maduro’s diplomatic officials were all expected to be out of the embassy by April 24th and the activists were prepared for a confrontation, "That was what they said to the diplomatic officials, we assumed it would apply to us and we were prepared to have them come in. It’s my understanding that it did apply to us but we had a huge turnout of people that showed up to lend their support and lend their bodies. And after that they decided not to show."
Eliot Abrams, Trumps Venezuelan regime change point man called the sit in a "violation of law", when asked about Abrams comments Gold called out his hypocrisy, "Well what a farce that Eliot Abrams would tell us that we’re breaking the law, he’s a convicted criminal and has been involved in war crimes. If Eliot Abrams did say that he is in fact entirely wrong. We are completely within our legal rights, we are here legally with permission from the Venezuelan government. Under the Vienna convention even if two countries lose diplomatic relations the embassy remains the property of that government, so for the secret service or US police would in fact be illegal."
Article 22 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Treaties states, "The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission."
Gold and other CODEPINK activists have called on antiwar Americans from around to country to help them. Anybody is welcome at the embassy and this Saturday May 4th a rally will be taking place there. For those who cannot make it in person, they can donate directly to the activists at the embassy online or send meals from local restaurants. CODEPINK always encourages people to speak out on social media and other platforms they have. You can also send a letter to the state department here.
Dave DeCamp is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn NY, focusing on US Foreign policy and wars. He is on Twitter at @decampdave.
La guerra nunca es
una opción / War’s
never an option:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/community_petitions/Free_Web_Community_Stop_Trumps_grabbing_Venezuelan_oil
Socialist protecting socialist. What’s new?
Do Antiwar.com and Code Pink get their orders directly from Putin, or does he have their KGB handlers take care of the communications?
Do you get your PCP direct from the manufacturer, or is there a drugdealer who acts as go-between to get the drug from factory to your disturbed psyche?
So you’re saying “Yes, but it’s a distributed supply chain????
Perhaps you mean their KFC handlers? The KGB has been gone for some 28 years. 196 years in dog years.
Birds of a feather….Leftists always support vile dictators and Communists. ALWAYS.
So we should support the OTHER socialist, Guaido? Six of one.
We should stay the hell out of it.
If forced to “support” one side, it should most certainly NOT be Maduro.
Forecast for 2020…fascist flurries…
No matter who you are: Trump (Right wing idiot white person), keeping Hispanics out of America.
#Codepink (Left wing idiots mostly white people), keeping Venezuelans out of their own property.
White privilege apparently doesn’t have a political ideology, just a race.
What’s even funnier (from a person of color’s perspective) was the sign codepink put up. “This embassy belongs to the ELECTED government of Venezuela!” Which basically says that if Trump was vacated by his congress like Maduro was, they’d support Trump because “he was the elected president.” It’s ok, we’re used to white people not allowing us into places and taking our stuff. FMR.
What does “white” have to do with anything? Many Hispanics are “white” to the extent that the word has any meaning at all (its origin was as a discriminator between those who could or could not be held as chattel slaves — since 1865 in the US, that means either that there’s no such thing as “white” or that everyone is “white”).
So, you’re saying that in the US there is no such thing as white privilege? (You must be white!) Not sure where you get your information as to “white”, the US EEOC CURRENTLY defines it explicitly as “original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.” White decides where someone has their start in life and opens doors. Being ignorant of white privilege is a luxury only white people have(if you’re not aware of the prevalence of white privilege, you’re most likely…white.. Some white people understand it. Most, like you apparently (asking what does white have to do with it?”), don’t even see it. That’s kind of sad. Many European Hispanics are white. Most Latin American Hispanics are NOT (hence our brown and black skin). A lot of people call Guaido “white”, which is really funny. I know both him and Maduro and been in the same places at the same time with both of them in the past (when Chavez was president). Guaido actually darker than Maduro in person. …but yeah, people call him white and not Maduro. White privilege is a very real thing.
“So, you’re saying that in the US there is no such thing as white privilege? (You must be white!)”
There’s certainly “privilege” based on perceived skin coloration, and that’s a bad thing (I’m a mutt, but easily “pass” as “white”).
Doesn’t seem to be much of a privilege in South Africa or China.