Venezuela’s socialist government celebrated the 48th anniversary of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, in Caracas on Friday, reaffirming its support for the Middle Eastern nation against imperialism.
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Speaking out against Israeli occupation and settlement expansion, Venezuelan officials praised their Palestinian “comrades” for standing up to Israeli war crimes.
“The struggle of the Palestinian people is now more than ever an example for all humanity,” Bolivarian Command of Telecommunications official Leonardo Molina said, HispanTV reports.
“We consider it possible and necessary to live as brothers in a planet more rich and beautiful than it is today.”
Joined by DFLP members, the Venezuelan government stressed the importance of putting pressure on more Latin American governments to boycott and divest from Israel. Currently, right-wing countries like Mexico, Honduras and Colombia recognize Israel and cooperate with them on security and economic matters.
Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia — all led by socialist governments — have cut relations with Israel and withdrawn recognition.
Since Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution began in 1999, the South American country has strongly supported Palestine both diplomatically and economically. Both former president Hugo Chavez and current President Nicolas Maduro have spoken out at the United Nations against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and siege of the Gaza Strip.
Venezuela was one of the first countries to donate humanitarian aid to Gaza after Israel's 2014 assault while donating funds for Palestinian child refugees. Later that year, the socialist government awarded over 1,000 Palestinian students scholarships to study in Venezuela’s top universities.
For leaders of the Bolivarian Revolution, Palestine’s struggle against Israeli imperialism is connected to Venezuela’s struggle against U.S. imperialism.
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“I say this here as Arabs and Venezuelans: we are not enemies of the Jewish people,” Bolivarian Socialist Workers' Center leader Jacobo Torres said, HispanTV also reports.
“Zionism is our enemy, because Zionism is an expression of imperialism.”
The DFLP is a Marxist-Leninist political and military organization that calls for “people’s war” against the Israeli regime. The DFLP is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization.