Photo by Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times / Police outside Venezuela Embassy in Washington D.C. before the remaining activists (in the windows)  were arrested and evicted from the diplomatic compound after weeks of occupying the building to protest the “U.S. backed-coup” against President Nicolas Maduro May 15, 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

WASHINGTON D.C. – It appeared that  the symbolism of long-time civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, 77-years-old, delivering bags of food and supplies to anti-war activists holed up in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington D.C. was too  much for the supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaidó to bear.  At least one Guaidó  supporter tried to snatch away one bag of food from Jackson to prevent him from delivering it to the activists.  Jackson vowed to return to the embassy on Sunday with more activists bringing additional food and supplies.  Finally, after a month of an intense standoff,  police made their move  Thursday morning, arresting and evicting the four remaining activists living inside the diplomatic compound in the tony Georgetown section of D.C.    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 said they were 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. U.S. Secret Service police  officers assisted agents from the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service execute arrest warrants against people inside the embassy. Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police had set up  barricades on the public city sidewalk outside the embassy.  Many observers are of the opinion that after Jackson’s dramatic feeding of the activists and his vow to return Sunday,  prompted the supporters of Guaidó  to pressure the U.S., which recognizes Guaidó as the “legitimate” president of Venezuela, to move into action quickly and evict them. It would have been a PR disaster for the U.S. if Jackson would have returned with other high-profile  civil rights and anti-war activists to the besieged embassy, especially if Jackson were to be attacked and/or arrested. 

©Diplomatic Times / United States Secret Service Police monitoring situation at Venezuela Embassy  

©Diplomatic Times  /  DC-MP  K-9 Unit outside Venezuela Embassy 

©Diplomatic Times /  Anti-war activists hung banner “Stop The Coup” from roof of  Venezuela Embassy 

Photos by Gary Raynaldo /   ©Diplomatic Times / A phalanx of police officers outside Venezuela embassy before the remaining activists were arrested and removed.

BREAKING Our own @ArielElyseGold was able to talk with two of the embassy protectors — Dr. Margaret Flowers and Adrienne Pine — as they were unlawfully hauled out of the building and off to jail today. pic.twitter.com/Q7Kt73lLcy

— CODEPINK (@codepink) May 16, 2019

In a press release, CODEPINK said that their activists were charged with “interference with certain protective functions.”

©Diplomatic Times / Anti-war activists inside Venezuela embassy Washington D.C. before police raid