Venezuelan Opposition Rally With Israeli Flags, Trump Masks

As thousands of supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gathered in Caracas to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bolivarian revolution, opposition groups attended a rally led by “interim president” Juan Guaido carrying more than one symbol in support of interventionism.

RELATED:

Evo Morales Visits Venezuela, Rejects 'Empire's Coup'

In Punto Fijo, the biggest city in the northern Falcon state, people raised a U.S. flag alongside the Venezuelan flag. After the National Assembly, in judicial contempt, proclaimed Guaido as “interim president” and declared Maduro an “usurper,” the United States rushed to recognize him as the new head of state of Venezuela, followed by a number of right-wing Latin American governments.

While Guaido has gained support from some governments, international organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations refused to recognize him as “interim president” and still recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of the South American country.

For the Venezuelan government, its allies and international analysts, recognizing a man nobody voted for as “interim president” amounts to interventionism in the nation's internal affairs.

Also, the background screen for the stage from where Guaido spoke to the crowd for moments depicted an Israeli flag, as documented by several local news outlets.

Israel is a close ally of the United States and responsible for human rights violations and war crimes against the Palestinian people, whose territory continues to be seized by settlers despite international condemnation.

Just like Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Guatemala’s Jimmy Morales, other far-right governments in Latin American see a strategic ally in Israel, which usually provides military support.

In Caracas, a man wearing a mask of U.S. President Donald Trump attended the opposition rally, attracting cameras from local and international outlets and more than one wanting to take a selfie.

Trump’s administration has been leading the international interventionist efforts against the Venezuelan people and has multiple times suggested a possible military option to topple President Maduro, an opinion echoed by some in his closest circle.

Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters gathered at Bolivar Avenue, where the president called for a dialogue with the opposition in order to reach a peaceful solution to the current political stand-off.

“Leave the path of Yankee interventionism, stop calling the war, stop supporting a coup that has already failed. The coup failed and they (the United States) do not realize it," he told the opposition.

Maduro greeted the call for a dialogue by the governments of Uruguay, Mexico, and the U.N.’s Antonio Guterres, and announced parliamentary elections in order to restore the National Assembly, in contempt since 2016.