Activists at Venezuela Embassy in US Brace for Possible Raid

As the attempted coup in Venezuela's capital slowly fades away, tensions were still high at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington D.C. Tuesday as activists defending the premises with Venezuela's authorization have reported United States Secret Service surrounding and photographing the building, while a small group of opposition protesters gathers outside. 

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“Activists are risking arrest in defense of the sovereignty of the embassy and at the invitation of the legitimate government. Police are expected to raid the embassy any moment,” Activist Alex Rubinstein reported from inside the diplomatic mission. 

The Embassy Protection Collective, invited and authorized by the Venezuelan government, entered the building mid-March 2019 as country’s diplomatic premises in the United States have been forcibly seized by Washington-backed agents. Since then dozens of volunteers have defended the building from being occupied by opposition supporters.

On Tuesday, as the coup attempt was underway in Caracas, people both in support and against legitimate President Nicolas Maduro’s administration gathered outside the embassy. Many reported that raid attempts were stopped by anti-war defenders and volunteers. 

“An opposition Venezuelan tried to enter the Embassy of Venezuela in Washington through the back door, the U.S. Secret Service looks into the windows of the facilities. Activists remain inside and outside the Embassy protecting it,” teleSUR correspondent Alina Duarte reported. 

Georges Roy, a Haitian American, talked on the stop about the U.S. destruction of Haiti. He told opposition activists that they are "inviting a monster" by asking for U.S. intervention. Meanwhile, the U.S. Secret Service surrounded the building and proceed to take pictures of the people and inside open windows.