00:00And to go deep into the relevance of this event for Venezuelans, we invite Lisbeth
00:05Melendez, international U.S. policy analyst, co-chair as well of the board of directors
00:10WAVES AHEAD de Puerto Rico. Hello Lisbeth and thank you for joining us.
00:14Thank you for inviting me.
00:17How would you assess the influence of the far right on U.S. foreign policy towards Latin
00:22America and also what are the potential long-term consequences of their involvement in Venezuela's
00:27internal affairs regarding the actual, the current moment Venezuela is living?
00:32Well, you know, we need to understand that for a country that continually speak about self-determination
00:37of its people, we are under a current government system that has denounced, denied, and silenced
00:46the voice of the people of the United States.
00:49And so in doing so, the far right has achieved one of their main goals, which is to establish
00:56what many will say a fascist, you know, state here, that has seen the region in the same
01:03way in which many of the former presidents of the 1800s and early 1900s did with the occupations
01:10of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines under the sole guidance of the Spanish-American War.
01:18The idea of destabilizing Venezuela follows a history of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
01:24et cetera.
01:26And any place – and demonstrate that they still believe that any place that comes to
01:31successful definition of no other than the democracy, the capitalist democracy as established
01:38by the elites of this country is a threat and therefore must be eliminated.
01:44They will do so either by invasion or by quiet acquisition of destabilizers within those
01:51countries.
01:52And we obviously see it at this moment in Venezuela.
01:56In the current scenario, marked by the U.S. deployment of military ships in the Caribbean
02:02and also the threats it represents not just for Venezuela but also for the region – Latin
02:06American and the Caribbean region.
02:08How important is international solidarity in this fight that Venezuela is moving forward
02:14against these foreign interventions?
02:16Well, it is of the utmost importance that the international community realizes that this
02:22is one more act of foreign aggression by a government whose current leader spoke of no invasions,
02:30no new wars, no new conflicts outside of an isolationist stance, and has done anything but.
02:37He continues to meddle in the Ukraine-Russian war.
02:40He continues to meddle in America Latina.
02:43He continues to meddle in Asia.
02:45And therefore, not just by tariff but by military presence, destabilizes the forces that
02:51globally continue to secure peace around the world.
02:57It is an incredibly dangerous stance that we follow in.
03:01And one, by the way, that is for which is very little known here.
03:04Those of us who are involved in policies and politics in the United States know about these
03:08movements.
03:09But the majority of the country has not even heard because he's constantly throwing information
03:16and destabilization, you know, destabilizing information within the country to keep the people
03:24in a lull with their eyes covered as to what he is actually effectuating and doing outside
03:30of the borders of the United States.
03:33So, in Venezuela, the national Bolivarian militias enlistment day is underway.
03:38Also there's going to be this process as well alone tomorrow.
03:42What message, what's the message that Venezuela is sending to the world and how does this response
03:46from the people reflect the resilience of the Venezuelan society as a whole in spite of these
03:51actions from the U.S. and the far right inside the country?
03:55Just like any other country who is there to speak and to self-determine, the Venezuelans
04:02continue to demonstrate what it is to stand for its own defense, for its own standing.
04:10And we know that regardless of what decision is by the Venezuelan people, it will be one
04:14that will be sustained by the community of Venezuelans, not just here, but those who understand
04:20the importance of the participation of the defense of one's own country in the face of
04:27aggression by another who has indeed no business meddling in what the people of Venezuela have
04:33said.
04:34I totally encourage the people who wish to join this effort to do so and, again, encourage
04:41the global community to support the people, not just of Venezuela, but other countries who
04:46are finding themselves in the target of a country who seems determined to achieve global domination
04:56of a different kind, not financial, not that they had it, but a force of fear and of financial
05:05manipulations across the world.
05:09Thank you very much, Lisbeth, for your time here from the South, for your insight of what
05:13is taking place today in Venezuela.
05:16Thank you for inviting me.
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