Credit: M. Saint Gomez / Diplomatic Times /  Venezuela’s  military defense attaché  diplomatic mission located in the Kalorama section of Washington D.C. 

By M. Saint Gomez     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

WASHINGTON D.C.  –  While Venezuela’s Embassy in Washington D.C. is currently occupied by supporters of embattled president Nicolas Maduro, the Latin American nation’s military defense attaché  is under the control of Colonel José Luis Silva who renounced  allegiance to Maduro in favor of interim president Juan Guaidó.  Col. Silva  broke with the Maduro regime  in January and urged other armed forces members to recognize Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela.

“As the Venezuelan defense attaché in the United States, I do not recognize Mr. Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela,”  Silva told el Nuevo Herald in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.

Venezuela’s highest ranking military diplomat breaks with Maduro

Pro-Maduro Activists Take Over Venezuelan Embassy in Washington D.C.

Credit: M. Saint  Gomez  / Diplomatic Times /  Supporters of  interim president Juan Guaidó demand that the pro-Maduro activists leave the Venezuela Embassy located on 30th Street N.W. in the tony Georgetown section of Washington D.C.  May 1 , 2019. 

An activist group that supports embattled Venezuela President Nicholas Maduro has been protesting and living inside of the Venezuela Embassy in Washington D.C. for weeks. The group, which calls themselves the Code Pink, has been occupying the embassy since April 14.  They say they are living there in order to “protect”  the embassy from takeover by representatives of  “interim president” Juan Guaidó, who they contend is Trump’s puppet mounting a coup against the Maduro government. The U.S. State Department, which backs Guaidó and considers him as the legitimate president of Venezuela, ordered all pro-Maduro diplomats out of the embassy and to leave the country.  The activists say one of the embassy staff give them the keys to the building as he was leaving on April 14. Code Pink contends the diplomat gave them permission to occupy the embassy to prevent pro-Guaidó diplomats from moving in.  Code Pink also calls itself the Embassy Protection Collective.

Activist group Code Pink defends takeover of Venezuela Embassy in DC

Simón Bolívar  The Liberator Of Venezuela 

Credit: M. Saint Gomez / Diplomatic Times /  Equestrian of Simón Bolívar is a public artwork by American artist Felix de Weldon. The monument is located at Virginia Avenue NW, 18th Street NW, and C Street NW in Washington D.C.  near the United States Department of Interior and the Pan American Union building of the Organization of American States

What would the  legendary Simón Bolívar think of the current situation in Venezuela that is tearing the country apart?