Venezuelans have the right to their national resources such as oil, and the U.S. has no business taking over or controlling Venezuela. If the U.S. is so interested in the fate of the Venezuelan people, we would consult them and provide them with the assistance they need, not blockade food and medicine. We would not steal their income from their exports. Imagine if another country tried to do the same to the U.S. Needless to say, U.S. citizens would rise up.

People advocating for no U.S. intervention in Venezuela tried to protect the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C. They reported that they were physically attacked and their access to food was blocked by their opponents. The police and other law enforcement arrested the embassy protectors rather than those inflicting violence on them.

This is a dangerous precedent to set. It means that First Amendment rights have been suspended in the U.S. and repression is the order of the day. Moreover, international law governing the treatment of embassies around the world was violated.

Please contact our congressional delegation – Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden – to voice your opposition to U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the treatment of the embassy protectors.

Ginny Schneider

South Portland