A small number of radical leftists who illegally invaded the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC, late last month after socialist regime diplomats fled remain inside, but authorities removed several individuals on Monday night and those remaining are facing imminent expulsion.
The remaining protesters, which witnesses told Breitbart News include former Occupy activist Kevin Zeese and former Green Party candidate in Maryland Margaret Flowers, claim the illegal socialist regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro invited them to stay there and believe the United States is staging a coup in Venezuela. Members of the much larger Venezuelan diaspora group camped out on the sidewalks outside the embassy disagree.
They believe that, according to the Venezuelan Constitution, Juan Guaidó is the legitimate interim president ahead of elections. Guaidó’s government has not authorized the occupation of the building and the leftists have prevented his representatives from using the property.
There is no evidence that any of those in the embassy are Venezuelan or Venezuelan-American.
“This is a historic moment, thanks to the non-stop pressure of the Venezuelan diaspora and the diplomatic body of interim president Juan Guaidó in Washington, DC, we are in the process of ending the illegal occupation of these radical groups (Code Pink and Answer Coalition) and return the Venezuelan embassy to the people of Venezuela,” Freddy Cova told Breitbart News, adding that he’s been outside the embassy “nonstop” since April 30.
The D.C. police and the Secret Service have been protecting the pro-Guaidó crowd and have prevented the leftists from receiving food and other supplies. Nothing is preventing those inside from leaving to eat or return home.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement, CNN reported, that said it considered the protesters inside the embassy “trespassers.”
“Rafael Alfonso, director of operations for the embassy, said it appeared unlikely that the remaining activists would be removed from the embassy Monday night and that the situation would be revisited sometime on Tuesday,” the Associated Press reported. “Alfonso said once the building had been cleared of activists, he would assess any damage on behalf of the embassy.”
The radical leftist media outlet Democracy Now carried a statement from Zeese in its report on the standoff.
“We are not going to leave voluntarily. We came here to protect the embassy, we’ve been here for 34 days,” Zeese, who along with Flowers is a co-chair of the “Popular Resistance,” said. We will stay longer if necessary. We hope that this results in an agreement between Venezuela and the United States to protect this embassy from the fake government — the fake coup, the non-government that the U.S. is pushing for. We’re here. We’re still resisting.”
The State Department issued another statement on Monday.
“In a statement on Monday, a State Department official reiterated the US position against the Maduro government and said Carlos Vecchio, who Guaido has declared the Venezuelan ambassador to the US, requested US assistance,” CNN reported.
“As a result of Ambassador Vecchio’s request, further action is being taken, and the unauthorized occupants are being informed by law enforcement that they are trespassing on the embassy property,” a state department spokesperson said in the CNN report. “Until the trespassers are gone, no individuals will be permitted to enter the embassy.”
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter