A large gathering of the city’s Venezuelan community was out in front of Calgary City Hall on Sunday with the hopes of raising awareness about the dire situation facing their home country.
Organizers chose May 20 as the day to hold a protest because it was the very day that Venezuela’s government, headed by Communist leader Nicolas Maduro, scheduled an election that those involved in the protest say is illegal.
“It is an illegal election. It was called by an illegal body called the National Constituency Assembly that was created last year in order to avoid the constitution in Venezuela,” said Josue Ramirez.
He says that there is already support to have the results of Sunday’s election ignored, but more needs to be done.
“Today we are rallying in more than 200 cities around the world in order to ask world leaders, including Justin Trudeau, to ask the International Court of Justice at The Hague to prosecute President Maduro for criminal activity against humanity and to stop the current crisis situation that we are facing in Venezuela.”
The crisis that Ramirez speaks of is an extreme shortage of food and medication and out-of-control inflation.
He says that the situation has driven common people to become smugglers for prescriptions that their friends and neighbours need to live.
“My mom is 77 years old and she needs medication. In order for me to get her her medication, I have to ask a friend who lives on the border between Colombia and Venezuela to cross the border, get the medication and she has to ship it to Caracas, 800 km away, in hiding.”
Ramirez says he hopes the demonstration will let people know about what is going on and support their situation.
“There are people eating out of garbage. You can go on the Internet and look up Venezuela and see those pictures and videos. The world has to see what is happening in Venezuela.”
