Since Jan. 3, the presidential couple has remained illegally detained in a maximum-security prison in New York.

On Thursday, Venezuelan lawmaker Nicolas Maduro Guerra launched the international “Bring Them Back!” campaign. The initiative aims to build a global movement to demand the release of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores, who were kidnapped by U.S. forces on Jan. 3.

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The campaign will include the installation of real-time counters at all Venezuelan embassies and consulates worldwide. These devices will track the days, hours and minutes that have passed since the presidential couple’s kidnapping. The counter will use 2 a.m. on Jan. 3 as its starting point.

“We want the world to see, second by second, how long the will of a people and the institutions of a country have been held captive,” said President Maduros’s son during a virtual meeting with social activists, diplomats and jurists from around the world. The meeting was convened by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP).

The Bolivarian lawmaker urged solidarity groups to form chapters of the “Bring Them Back!” movement in each country and to prepare for a major global day of protest on Feb. 3. That date marks one month since the alleged illegal abduction of President Maduro and his wife.

The campaign will also seek to assemble a front of international legal experts to denounce the “atrocious and unimaginable crime” committed by the U.S. government. It will deploy a network of spokespeople to break the “imperialist propaganda blockade” and promote Venezuela’s version of events.

Lawmaker Maduro Guerra also highlighted the strength of Venezuelan institutions and the civilian-military unity that has maintained peace. He noted that the country has its first woman leading the nation, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who currently heads the Bolivarian government.

“Venezuela is a peaceful country that does not stop. We continue to advance economically, socially and politically, with faith that, sooner rather than later, we will have them back in the name of God,” he said.

On Jan. 3, U.S. forces bombed Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and several areas in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. The action resulted in at least 100 deaths and a similar number of injuries.

During the military attack, U.S. Delta Force commandos kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. The presidential couple was transferred to New York, where they remain illegally detained in a maximum-security prison.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: teleSUR

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