News from the people’s perspective

Americans Intervene to Protect Venezuelan Embassy, Fearful of U.S. Takeover

Washington, DC— American supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have chained the front doors of the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown to prevent the Trump administration from invading and taking over the building.

Calling themselves the Embassy Protection Collective, they are residing at the Venezuela Embassy 24 hours a day at the invitation of diplomatic staff. They’ve labeled the Trump administration’s attempts to replace President Nicolás Maduro a coup and an illegal act in contravention of international norms. Embassy staff are calling the Americans staying there Colectivos por la Paz (Collectives for Peace).

The vigil began April 13 in response to a takeover and occupation of the Venezuelan Consulate in New York and another Embassy takeover in Costa Rica by individuals not representing Nicolás Maduro’s government. Others took over the Venezuelan office of the Military Attaché in Georgetown on March 19 and have occupied it on behalf of Juan Guaidó.

The office of the military attache of Venezuela in Washington, DC was illegally taken over by the opposition with the aid of the U.S. government./Photo by John Zangas

U.S. government officials of the Trump Administration have come out against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, although he was democratically elected by 68 percent of the Venezuelan people in May 2018. The administration has attempted a “soft coup” by formally recognizing Juan Guaidó, the former parliament leader of Venezuela, said Kevin Zeese, one of organizers.

Since the activists are there by invitation and consent of the Venezuelan diplomatic staff, they have a legal standing and have invited others to help. The collective has organized a panel of speakers, online forums and newscasts and conducted a banner and art build, in order to educate the public about the issues affecting Venezuela with its historical context.

Embassies of foreign nations are considered sovereign territory under the Geneva Conventions. The U.S. government would be acting in contravention of international law if it entered another sovereign country’s embassy and replaced its diplomats with those having no legal standing under the Geneva Conventions.

It may be unprecedented for American citizens to physically intervene to prevent an embassy takeover and thwart their own government’s efforts to facilitate a coup against a democratically elected foreign government.

Several Venezuelan diplomats are still in the Embassy with their staff and have allowed chains to be fixed, thus barring entry to the front doors. They have placed an 18-point statement in the windows facing the street asserting their legal right to remain and largely condemning the attempted takeover.

The collective has held art builds to create banners with posters of messages of peace which they’ve placed on the barricades in the foyer behind the front doors of the building. Diplomats are are expecting an attempt by U.S. Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security to remove anyone remaining in the Embassy between April 24 and 25, when their visas expire.

Supporters attend a forum on April 20 in the Venezuelan Embassy./Photo by John Zangas

Diplomatic staff and organizers have requested Venezuelan citizens and supporters to join them at the Embassy to prevent U.S. Secret Service or law enforcement agencies or anyone else from attempting to take over the building.

Secret Service has responsibility for security of the grounds around embassies but is not authorized to remove diplomatic staff or their invited guests.

On April 9, the Organization of American States (OAS) voted by a thin majority to recognize Juan Guaidó as the self-appointed President of Venezuela though he has not been democratically elected by Venezuelans. This came after the OAS was compelled to change its rules requiring recognition to a majority vote from a two-thirds vote.

“Nowhere in its charter is the OAS granted authority to recognize nor deny the legitimacy of the governments of any given member state,” wrote Anya Parampil in The Grayzone, an Independent media publication.

This mural in the embassy, created by students in Washington, DC, is likely to be destroyed if U.S. forces invade./Photo by John Zangas

Parampil traveled to Venezuela recently to get a first-hand perspective. She reported discovering Venezuelans believed President Nicolás Maduro was not responsible for a humanitarian crisis and no such crisis existed as it being reported in the U.S. mainstream press. She found the opposite was true. “One of the first things I did was visit Bolivar Square in Caracacas, where thousands of people were lined up for hours to sign an open letter denouncing U.S. interference in their country and demanding the U.S. government keep its hands off Venezuela,” she said.

The crisis in Venezuela is not a real humanitarian crisis as is being reported in the U.S. press, according to Parampil, who has covered other regions suffering from humanitarian crises such as the Gaza Strip and throughout the Middle East. There is an economic crisis in Venezuela but Venezuelans “blame the U.S.-led economic war [and] financial terrorism for their suffering. They understand that it’s not their government but the fact that their government is being targeted by the U.S. empire that has led to their suffering,” she said.

A former United Nations Special Rapporteur has criticized U.S. economic sanctions against Venezuela as “medieval sieges against towns” which could amount to “crimes against humanity.”

“Stop the Coup,” reads a banner, which now hangs from the front of the embassy./Photo by Anne Meador

Since the U.S. administration has supported self declared President. Guaidó actually lost a special early election his party requested in 2018. It was after his defeat to President Nicolás Maduro that he declared he was President.

Republican and Democratic leadership has in effect remained silent over Juan Guaidó’s attempted takeover and support of the Trump administration. However, U.S. presidential candidates Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie Sanders are standouts who have come out against the U.S. support of Juan Guaidó.

Margaret Flowers, one of the organizers, said any attempt by the Trump administration to facilitate a removal of the Venezuelan diplomats or staff of the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro is illegal.

“We expect that the police may come in and try to forcibly remove us from the building and our intention is to make that politically unpalatable by educating people about what is really going on,” Flowers said.

If Secret Service come and attempt to remove them and activists refuse to leave, then they would be charged with trespassing. Flowers pointed out that they are here at the invitation of the diplomats of the official government of Venezuela, making it hard to imagine the courts would see them being there as a violation of law.

You can follow the activities of the Colectivos por la Paz on their Facebook page.