May 17, 2019

No to the War in Venezuela

By the Rev. Dr. Miguel A. Hernandez

The last few weeks have been very intense in Washington as various activists

from Pink Code and other collectives had occupied the embassy with the consent of the

Venezuelan government.

The situation has turned into an international crisis in Venezuela and in the

United States as Guido’s supporters gathered outside the embassy attempting to get

into the embassy. The Police broke the chains that kept the doors shut at the embassy,

and they were not able to remove the occupants for some time. There was a prolonged

impasse. Trespassing the embassy is a clear violation of the Geneva convention on

international law. The host country of foreign embassies is responsible for providing

protection for the embassies. The USA government had violated international law by

not allowing the occupants of the embassy to receive food while they were in the

embassy. In addition to this, electricity and water has been cut. On May 16, 2019, we

learned from the news outlet RT that the Rev. Jessie Jackson was present at the

embassy and some food was allowed in. However, later on that situation changed as

the Police arrested four Pink Code activists who were still inside the embassy.

After the takeover of the embassy, we are entering into a more difficult phase. A

few weeks ago, Mr. John Bolton escalated the situation by bringing back the Monroe

Doctrine stating that the Americas is for America. In other words, Latin America is the

backyard of the USA – and in particular referring to Venezuela. The frustration on the

part of the US government is evident from recent failed attempts to overthrow the

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government of Nicolas Maduro. This failure has made Mr. Mike Pompeo very upset.

Adding to the constant insinuation of President Trump and other officials that all options

are open can make one think that the US government wants to start a military

intervention in Venezuela. The government of Nicolas Maduro has been very patience

with the constant attacks made by the opposition leaders such as Mr. Juan Guido.

Guido’s call for the military to overthrow Nicolas Maduro is act of treason that is

punishable in any country, but Mr. Guido is still rooming freely the streets in Venezuela.

Would that be allowed in the USA? Really? And what about Marco Rubio who has

requested the removal of Nicolas Maduro? All these actions are provocations to the

Venezuelan government.

The Organization of American States, Organización de Estados Americanos

(OEA), has been pressuring the Venezuelan government to step down from power. With

the Organization of American States aligned to the USA policies and agenda, this

organization cannot be a place where Latin American and Caribbean countries can

come together to solve regional problems. There is a bias in favor of one side.

Besides the political pressure, Venezuela is also under an economic attack. The

blockade of financial resources and other instruments for the Venezuelan government

to meet its obligations has caused a great pain to the people in general. These

detrimental actions have resulted in super inflection in the already weak economy.

People are having extreme difficulties with their daily living which can lead people to

desperation and frustration. This is what the opposition is counting on as well as

Washington. Even though the Venezuelan people are being tested and destabilized, the

Venezuelan people are still resisting the oppression.

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We are witnessing a deja vu of the events that took place in Chile in 1973 when

the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by the US

government orchestrated by Henry Kissinger. The events in Venezuela appear as a

carbon copy, but a poor copy indeed since the Venezuelan military has not betrayed the

government of Nicolas Maduro while in Chile Augusto Pinochet carried out the coup on

behalf of the USA. It is important to note that Maduro still has a large support from the

people.

As a person of conscious, I cannot be silent about what is going on in Venezuela.

I cannot be complicit in this matter. There is already so much suffering going on not just

in Venezuela as a direct result of the US intervention in Latin America and around the

world. Silence is not an option. I have to say in a resounding voice: No to the War in

Venezuela!

The people of the US also suffer as the wars linger on. The military expending in

war ventures does not allow for funds to be used in education and healthcare. Taxes

continue to go up as the military expending is increased for the endless wars. This

creates an economic pressure on the working class people in the USA. There is less

money available for other necessities for those who live on a paycheck-to-paycheck

every month. Injustice and suffering are the outcomes of the military aggression of the

US government.

Let’s remember what Scripture says about war: “And he shall judge among the

nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into

plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against

nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

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In short, wars are a curse. We must stop them.

As we look back to the history of our continent, we can emphatically state that

the veins of Latin America have been reopened recently due to the USA intervention:

Grenada (1979), Panama (1989), Venezuela (2002), Honduras (2009), and now again

Venezuela. We cannot allow these attacks to continue. Let’s pray that God frustrates

the attempts of the US government to overthrow the government of Venezuela, and for

the eyes and minds of people of good will to be opened so that we can raise our voices

and say: No to the War in Venezuela! Amen.