Dear Douglas,
We spent 37 days inside the embassy paving the way for an agreement like this and now it looks like it might happen. It is in the United States’ interest to approve this agreement because then the Venezuelan government will approve a similar Protecting Power Agreement for the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela reached between the United States and Switzerland. If both agreements are signed, the US Embassy in Caracas would operate under the Swiss government and the Venezuelan Embassy in DC would operate under the Turkish government. That would mean that critical functions for citizens of both embassies such as renewing visas and issuing passports will remain.
It was a long and gruelling process — arrests, physical assaults, having electricity turned off — to protect the embassy, but it looks like our work has paid off. Not only has Venezuela found a government to sign a Protecting Power agreement with them, but it has been over six weeks that Juan Guaidó has not been able to move into the embassy building. Not only has the coup attempt in Venezuela, orchestrated by Trump, Bolton, and Guiado, failed but their concurrent mini-coup attempt at the Venezuelan Embassy in DC failed as well. It’s thanks to all of our hard work that this has been achieved. Now we need one last push:
tell the State Department to accept the Protecting Powers agreement!
In celebration of all we have achieved,
Ann, Ariel Carley, Caroline, Jodie, Kelly, Kirsten, Lily, Maya, Mark, Medea, Nancy, Paki, Rose, Ryan, Sarah, Tighe, Ursula, and Zena