A Look at What’s Happening in Venezuela

LEOPOLDO LOPEZ, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Nicolas Maduro is a criminal. He’s a criminal that is being presented as such by the International Criminal Court. Today, the U.N. presented a report that is called the fact-finding mission of the U.N. Commission for Human Rights and it states very clearly that Nicolas Maduro and his dictatorship are responsible for committing crimes against humanity. That Nicholas Maduro has committed or ordered crimes that have affected millions of Venezuelans. You’ve heard a testimony that portrays very well the heartbroken reality of thousands of people that have gone to the streets, that have gone over and over many things in order to have freedom in our country. Unfortunately, and that’s your question, today, we continue to have Nicholas Maduro as a dictator. What I would like to bring this reflection even beyond Venezuela. We have seen similar protests elsewhere, in Nicaragua, in Cuba, in Belorussia, Grusia Myanmar, and many other places around the world, where you have seen people go out to the streets. But dictators learn from each other, have taken the tactics of repression and using fear, violence, prison and even death in order to contain the push for freedom. So, yes, we are continuing to fight against Nicolas Maduro. He continues to have defector power. But we continue to have the will to fight. We are a super majority of Venezuelans, more than 85 percent of the Venezuelans want change to happen. But the reality is that we have a strong criminal, ruthless dictator that is holding onto power, similarly than places where there are still dictators, North Korea, Cuba and many others. And I think it’s very important for the United States public opinion, the people of the United States to understand that this fight for freedom requires an international engagement and particular the commitment of the United States. Because we are not only fighting Madura, you asked me, why Maduro is still there in power, and part of the reason is because he receives the support of very strong and mighty countries. And I am talking about China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Cuba, are countries that have an expansionist view of their authoritarian systems and they are affecting not only Venezuela but also many other countries that I mentioned before. So, this is a global issue. And “A La Calle” as a film it presents the case of Venezuela, but you could very well extrapolate what is happening in Venezuela, in Cuba, Nicaragua and to many other countries.