US Police State, Venezuela December 16, 2019
US Venezuelan embassy protectors denied right to fair trial
Four US activists protecting Venezuelas embassy in Washington, DC face
prison time after the Trump administration illegally arrested them. And now
a judges ruling blocking discovery will result in a farcical trial where
the jury will not be allowed to consider the contentious legality of the
coup.
By Bahman Azad and Ajamu Baraka
This piece originally appeared at Popular Resistance.
Four US peace activists were arrested on May 16, after staying in the
Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC for 37 days to prevent it from being
handed over to right-wing coup-leaders in violation of the Vienna
Convention.
Seven months after the arrest, the embassy protectors warn they are not
being guaranteed the right to a fair trial.
On December 13, the chief judge of the US District Court for Washington, DC,
Beryl A. Howell, denied discovery motions requested by the defendants.
This denial will severely restrict the scope of the trial, currently
scheduled for February 11, 2020, of Adrienne Pine, David Paul, Margaret
Flowers, and Kevin Zeese.
The activists face federal charges punishable by up to a year in prison, a
$100,000 fine each, and restitution to the government for police time and
damages.
Judge Howells ruling will result in a farcical trial where the jury will
not be allowed to consider the contentious legality of the Trump
administrations recognition of the leadership of the coup in Venezuela, and
thus the legal basis of the charges the defenders are facing.
Judge Howells lack of objectivity and understanding of the issue were
revealed when she referred to the embassy protectors as a gang and stated
the facts supported their guilt.
She made it clear a trial will result in their conviction, and promptly made
rulings that will ensure that outcome.
What were the Embassy Protectors seeking?
The embassy protectors had permission from the internationally recognized,
elected Venezuelan government to be in the embassy.
The Trump administration is arguing that Juan Guaidos fake ambassador,
former oil executive Carlos Vecchio, who fled Venezuela because he is wanted
for violent coup activities, had the authority to order the embassy
protectors to leave. This is the crux of the case, but jurors will not be
permitted to know this.
The documents that the embassy protectors sought in discovery would
demonstrate the de-facto recognition by the Trump administration of Nicolas
Maduro, the democratically elected president of Venezuela, who is also
recognized by the United Nations and most of the world.
The Trump administration was in negotiations with the Maduro government for
a mutual protecting power agreement for the US embassy in Caracas and the
Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC. This is a standard procedure used when
diplomatic relations between countries are broken.
On May 15, one day before the arrest, the Venezuelan ambassador to the
United Nations Samuel Moncado held a press conference at the UN where he
explained they were in discussion for Switzerland to be the protector of the
US embassy in Venezuela and Turkey to be the protector of the Venezuelan
embassy in the United States.
The embassy protectors in Washington told the police on May 13 they would
leave the embassy when these negotiations were complete.
The protecting power agreement was not being negotiated with Juan Guaidó,
the self-proclaimed interim president, because he lacks the power to enact
such an agreement.
Elliott Abrams, Trumps special representative for Venezuela, said on
January 25 that Guaidós term would not begin until President Nicolás Maduro
left office. On August 2, Abrams was interviewed by the American Enterprise
Institute, where he expressed frustration that Maduro was still in office.
The jury will not know that the person in charge of Venezuelan policy for
the US was publicly acknowledging Maduro is still the president, because
Judge Howell declared this is not relevant to the case.
Another area of discovery denied by the Obama-appointed Judge Howell was
that the State Department failed to protect the embassy.
A pro-coup mob, working with the Trump administration, surrounded the
embassy for 17 days. Embassy protectors called on the Secret Service to
protect the embassy multiple times when the pro-coup mob was destroying it.
When a member of the mob broke windows to enter the embassy, police waited
while the embassy protectors got permission from the elected Venezuelan
government to remove him.
On another occasion, hundreds of people called the Secret Service to demand
they protect the embassy when the pro-coup mob was damaging it, but the
Secret Service declined to intervene.
In fact, the pro-coup mob who destroyed doors and windows defaced the
embassy and broke into the building worked with the Secret Service and State
Department to terrorize embassy protectors, block food deliveries and
assault people outside the embassy. The judge is not going to permit the
jury to hear this testimony.
The actions of Judge Howell are turning Trumps prosecution of the embassy
protectors into a charade where they and their lawyers will not be allowed
to mount a defense. This is another example of how the legal system is
designed to deny justice.
Our responsibility as citizens of US Empire
Beyond the legal and political implications of this case, there is the human
element. The embassy protectors face the real possibility of imprisonment
and steep fines for the crime of living up to their responsibilities as
citizens of US empire.
More than 70 activists joined the Embassy Protection Collective over 37
days. And they slept in the embassy not to seek publicity, as they knew the
corporate press wouldnt cover them; and not because they enjoyed going
hungry, when the right-wing thugs with the help of Trump administration
would not let food and water inside; and not because they wanted to live in
the dark, after the government shut off the power; rather, they put their
bodies on the line and gave their time because they wanted to stand in
solidarity with the people of Venezuela in support of international law.
The suffering they endured to protect the embassy was a microcosm of the
suffering of the Venezuelan people, who lack food, medicine, and electrical
power because of illegal unilateral coercive measures from the US economic
war, which is seeking to force Venezuela to put in place a US puppet
government.
What can you do?
The embassy protectors represented all of us who are citizens of the US
empire but could not make our way to Washington, DC to carry out our
responsibility to resist US lawlessness.
We need to join together to demand the charges against the embassy
protectors be dismissed.
You can take action here to demand that all charges are dropped.
And you can support the embassy protectors defense for their legal fees by
donating here.
Ajamu Baraka and Bahman Azad are the co-chairs of the Embassy Protectors
Defense Committee.
Ajamu Baraka is the national organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace and
the Secretariat of the U.S. Peace Council.
Bahman Azad is coordinator for the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military
Base and the Executive Secretary of the U.S. Peace Council.
