Washington, April 24 – Activists who have been inside the Venezuelan embassy for weeks complained in a chaotic press conference that power supply had been interrupted and Carlos Vecchio, the representative in the country of Juan Guaidó, was blamed for the cut. .
“The people inside the embassy are determined to stay inside, although they are suffering a lot,” said the leader of the activist group “Code Pink,” Medea Benjamin, during an impromptu intervention in a cafeteria near the legation.
The activists called the press at the establishment, after a group in support of Guaidó boycotted his intervention at the embassy gate with whistles, shouts and sirens.
Benjamin confirmed to Efe the energetic cease of supply, something that considered that “it is unprecedented in Washington”, since “the legislation prohibits to cut the light even when the invoice is not paid”.
The number of people guarding day and night inside the diplomatic headquarters has been reduced to “about 15”, according to the leader of “Code Pink”, who noted that increasingly find it more difficult to access or introduce food .
For example, after they went out to speak to the press, some activists were prevented from returning to the embassy by the resistance of several Venezuelans living in Washington who gathered in front of the building to demand the exit of the activist collective.
The embassy has become a symbol of the power struggle within Venezuela, where the head of parliament, the opposition Juan Guaidó, and President Nicolás Maduro claim the leadership of the state.
For about three weeks, the activists of “Code Pink” sleep inside the diplomatic headquarters to avoid being occupied by Vecchio’s team, while opponents claim for Guaidó.
The dispute over the control of the legation led the two groups to confront each other, giving rise in recent days to violent scenes and situations of tension.
The power cut was announced last night by Vecchio in a tweet:
“To the invaders of our Embassy who comfortably defend the usurping regime, we have decided to give them a little bit of experience of living in Venezuela under the failed socialism of Maduro, from this moment they will not have electric power. said the envoy of Guaidó.
For his part, Brian Becker, national director of the activist group The Answer Coalition, which is also present at the embassy, ​​criticized the interruption of the supply at today’s press conference.
“Is this the way it will be all about? With the US government using utility companies, cutting power from embassies? Can you imagine the cascade effect if other governments did this to US embassies?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, several cars of the Secret Service, in charge of the protection of the embassies, continue to watch the streets around the Venezuelan legation. (EFEUSA)
