Hundreds of Argentineans rally in show of support for Venezuela

Hundreds of people in Argentina have rallied in the capital, Buenos Aires, to show their solidarity with the Venezuelan government, which has recently been threatened with military invasion by the United States.

The Leftist activists marched on the Argentinean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday to condemn the US for threatening Venezuela with military action.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said he was “not going to rule out a military option” against Venezuela to deal with a domestic political crisis in the Latin American country.

Many other Latin American countries, some of which had often been critical of the Venezuelan government, then joined in a rare moment of unity to slam Trump’s threat.

The Argentineans in the Thursday rally said the crisis in Venezuela was an internal Venezuelan issue and had to be solved through intra-Venezuelan dialog.

“We are here to confront Trump’s policy against Venezuela and against Latin America, which is really nothing more than the continuity of an intervention policy that has been taking place in the United States,” said Marina Cardeli, a protester.

A woman holds a sign that reads “Trump, respect Venezuela – No to the imperialist intervention,” during a demonstration in support of Venezuela’s government outside Argentina’s Foreign Ministry in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 17, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Among the Latin American countries that rejected Trump’s belligerence were Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, and Chile.

The government in Caracas called the US president’s threat “reckless” and “craziness.” It said the US would experience “15 Vietnams” in Venezuela if it did attack Venezuela.

The Venezuelan opposition, too, has rejected any foreign military intervention.

On Thursday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed that Latin American countries must be safeguarded from foreign intervention.

Venezuela has been embroiled in crisis for months, with opposition protesters rallying to condemn the government’s policies. Political tensions escalated when Caracas announced plans to hold elections for a Constituent Assembly that would, upon establishment, take over the powers of the opposition-held parliament.

The elections were held on July 30 and the body was formed with over 500 members. On its agenda is rewriting the Venezuelan constitution, a move that the opposition says is aimed at increasing Maduro’s powers.

The day after the elections, the US slapped sanctions on Maduro and broadened the sanctions later this week by imposing bans against several members of the assembly.

The opposition says the leftist government of Maduro is to blame for the crisis, but the government accuses foreign powers and “right-wing terrorists” for the unrest.