NEW YORK — The Green Party of New York denounced the ongoing US-backed coup in Venezuela as the latest in a long line of US imperial interventions in Latin America. Party officers pointed out that the Trump administration has been enforcing crippling sanctions on Venezuela and met with military leaders last year to plot a coup, which was openly reported in US news outlets.

Green Party of New York

www.gpny.org

For Immediate Release

January 25, 2019

Contacts:

Peter LaVenia, Co-chair, GPNY chair2@gpny.org or 518-495-8001

Gloria Mattera, Co-chair, GPNY chair@gpny.org or 917-886-4538

The US openly backed a coup in 2002 that temporarily deposed President Hugo Chavez, and the Bush, Obama, and Trump regimes have supported the right-wing opposition and its neoliberal plans for the Venezuelan economy. Party leaders said members of the New York Congressional delegation, including Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Representative Ocasio-Cortez should introduce a resolution to cut off all US support for the coup.

"The United States has now provoked a second coup in Venezuela in an attempt to install a friendly regime in a nation with some of the largest oil reserves on Earth. While Trump allies with fascists like Bolsonaro in Brazil and murderous monarchs like Mohammed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, his regime has continued US imperial policies by attempting to overthrow a left-wing government in Venezuela and institute neoliberal policies that would plunder the economy for the oligarchs and wealthy that lead the Venezuelan Opposition. The Green Party stands with the Venezuelan people against this blatant imperial attempt at regime change," said party co-chair Peter LaVenia.

"Under the Bolivarian Revolution the Venezuelan government set up large-scale social programs designed to combat poverty, workers and local governments have been empowered, supported the rights of indigenous peoples and the state has taken control of resources that were formerly in the hands of foreign multinationals. The United States and its allies cannot tolerate any attempt by a poor country to buck the neoliberal model and institute any kind of socialist reforms, so they have consistently attempted to overthrow the government. The Opposition is run by wealthy Venezuelans who are of European descent and have often targeted Chavistas who are poor and often of African and indigenous heritage. The Opposition has murdered people because they were pro-government. They have harassed and shot journalists and plotted to blow up pro-government news stations. This is fascism. We oppose the coup attempt and demand that the Congressional leadership of New York introduce a resolution to cut off all funding to the Venezuelan Opposition and coup government," said party co-chair Gloria Mattera.

###