Locals stand in solidarity with Venezuela

For the second time this month, the Friends of Venezuela Solidarity Committee stood within environs of the British High Commission and the Canadian High Commission to peacefully protest against the “imperialist aggression” displayed by the Bank of England and the support for opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido.

Led by attorney Lalu Hanuman and general secretary of Caribbean Movement for Peace David Denny, the group held placards which said Don’t Steal Their Gold Ms May, Canada Be a Leader Not A Follower and Our Caribbean A Zone of Peace. 

Speaking with Barbados TODAY, Hanuman voiced that the group was protesting along the Culloden Road and Collymore Rock intersection because the actions by Britain have made Venezuela “victims of imperialist aggression.”

The Bank of England has blocked Venezuela’s attempts to retrieve $1.2 billion worth of gold stored as the nation’s foreign reserves in Britain. The loss of the gold would be a significant blow to the country’s finances and hinder the ability to obtain hard currency necessary for the importation of goods. 

“The British central bank is refusing to release some 31 tons of Venezuelan gold that Venezuela government put there for safekeeping, so in effect the British government has stolen the Venezuelan gold. . . .It is Venezuelan property so they should release it,” said Hanuman.

As the Columbia border remains blocked by Venezuelan troops, reports from the international media state the first shipment of humanitarian aid has entered from the Brazilian border. Hanuman described the efforts by the US to provide humanitarian aid as ironic. 

He claimed the crisis in Venezuela was orchestrated by the individuals who offered them assistance.

“The only reason why Venezuela is in the predicament it is in today is because of the sanctions that have been there for some five years which is stopping the government in Venezuela from importing basic food items and also medicine. 

We are saying that it is ironical, hypocritical and totally a human rights violation for them to be turning around and saying they are providing so-called aid to Venezuela when in fact they have been preventing basic necessities and medicines from entering Venezuela for the last five years,” he continued. (KK)