The officially recognized Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S. Carlos Vecchio met Tuesday night with close to 200 members of the growing Hispanic community in honor of Venezuela's Independence Day (July 5th). According to Casa de Venezuela Orlando, the group that organized the event at the Mark Street Senior Center, more than 149 thousand Venezuelans who fled Nicolas Maduro’s oppressive socialist government now call Central Florida home.
“The Venezuelan people reject censorship and celebrate freedom,” said Rep. Val Demings (D), who’s running against four other Democrats to challenge incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in November. “I call on my colleagues to oppose Maduro by supporting my legislation that funds internet freedom technology to support democracy and liberation in Venezuela.”
Rubio has long been a critic of the Venezuelan regime.
The U.S. no longer considers Maduro to be Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Instead, the State Department officially recognizes the authority of the 2015 National Assembly — the country’s last democratic institution — and therefore views Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.
At Tuesday’s event, Demings was honored as a pillar of the community alongside Republican strategist and Cuban-American Bertica Cabrera Morris, Orlando Sentinel Sr. content editor Jennifer Marcial Ocasio and Spectrum News 13’s morning anchor Ybeth Bruzual, who is of Venezuelan-Puerto Rican descent.
Casa de Venezuela was founded in 2003 in Orlando by William Diaz, a local Venezuelan community activist who works closely with Democrats and Republicans. On Saturday, the organization’s next event will honor more than 150 students for their academic achievements.
