Barbados Pays Tribute to Venezuela's Independence Anniversary

Diplomats, activists, artists, and cultural figures from Barbados sent messages of solidarity and congratulations to Venezuela's government and people on the 209th anniversary of the nation's Independence Day, on July 5.

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On the occasion of Independence Day, the figures joined their voices to demand the end of the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.

"Latin America must be a zone of peace. The U.S. has to stop its interference in the region," Barbados Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) David Commissiong said. 

Cuba and China's ambassadors in Barbados, Sergio Pastrana and Yan Xiusheng respectively, also highlighted the brotherhood of their nations with Venezuela.

"Together, let us follow the path of unity traced by Simon Bolivar and Jose Marti," Pastrana said.

Regarding Cuba and Venezuela, the artists acknowledged that these are the region's only two truly independent nations. 

"Cuba gained its independence in 1959 with Fidel Castro, and Venezuela since Hugo Chavez' power assumption," the Caribbean Against Apartheid in Palestine's Secretary-General Lalu Hanuman said. 

Barbadian artists Winston Farrell and Sonny Meraki performed for Venezuela the poem "The Bus Driver" and the Bob Marley's Redemption Song.

"I cannot forget to mention the close bond between Venezuela and Barbados through the Indigenous peoples," Barbados' National Cultural Foundation director Andrea Wells said. 

Venezuela's business manager in Barbados Alvaro Sanchez thanked this friendly gesture on the name of Venezuela's government and people.