An opinion piece on the Miami Herald penned by Fabiola Santiago highlights why Democratic support to Interim President Juan Guaidó matters on his fight to restore democracy in Venezuela. During his visit to the United States, Guaidó met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic members of Congress who reiterated their support to help Venezuelans to bring back democracy to Venezuela and to protect Venezuelans from deportations and detentions under the Trump administration.
Under Democratic leadership, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the country, help Venezuelans in their path to freedom and passed the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, a bill that is currently stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.
2/10/20, Miami Herald, The Democrats’ support is Juan Guaidó’s most valuable endorsement, not a Trump invite | Opinion
Key Points:
- “You can cheer for Nancy Pelosi, for Donald Trump, and for Juan Guaidó, the courageous Venezuelan lawmaker most Americans outside of Miami probably didn’t know until he became a last-minute guest at the president’s State of the Union address this week.”
- “Pelosi stood up and heartily clapped when President Trump introduced Guaidó, recognized by the United States and 58 other countries as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and interim president.”
- “Her support is a big deal because even though Trump invited Guaidó to score votes in purple Florida, the beleaguered people of Venezuela needed the impressive show of American solidarity.”
- “Too many people equate the fight to restore democracy in Venezuela with Trump when the more powerful truth is that the issue has bipartisan support in Congress.”
- “For Guaidó, especially back home in Venezuela, the Democrats’ support is a most valuable endorsement. More so, I would say, than a symbolic appearance at a State of the Union speech.”
- “Pelosi welcomed him to Congress on Thursday and addressed the media alongside him. That should send Maduro the message he needs to know. The Democrats won’t play softball with him, either.”
- “There is one thing Venezuelans, however, can only seem to get from Democrats: protection in this country.”
- “Trump talks tough, but his immigration enforcement arm deports Venezuelans seeking safety in exile back to Maduro’s “regime of terror.” By doing so, he chips at his own foreign policy credibility.”
- “Unlike the president who puts fleeing Venezuelans in deportation proceedings, Democrats in the House passed a bill giving them Temporary Protected Status. But their TPS was blocked in the Republican-dominated Senate, with no-votes coming from Florida Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.”
