American Activists Occupy the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington. The political crisis in Venezuela has added a new stage to the battle: the bitter power struggle between left-wing President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó is now taking place at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC.
American activists occupy the building in solidarity with President Maduro. In this way, they want to prevent representatives of the self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó from taking up residence there.
As a result of the Trump government’s recognition of self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó, the diplomatic representatives of the left-wing Maduro administration were ordered to make room for the opposition.
The embassy staff received an ultimatum from the US government: all diplomats and their employees had to leave the country by Wednesday 24 April at the latest.
And so it happened, the last diplomatic representatives left the embassy the day before yesterday and have since returned to Venezuela, but their place has not been taken by Guaidó faithful, but by American activists who support Maduro.
And those sympathisers, there are already a few dozen, are not Venezuelans but Americans.
“Collective to protect the embassy”, that’s what they call themselves. Two weeks ago, they moved into the embassy building with the approval of the Venezuelan diplomats.
Now they have the keys and the blessing of Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza: “Their support is welcome and legal, they protect Venezuelan state property in the US.”