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US official condemns sit-in protest at Venezuelan embassy

Posted April 25, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. supporters of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (nee-koh-LAHS' mah-DOO'-roh) are being warned to end a sit-in protest at the country's shuttered embassy in Washington.

U.S. envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams says the protesters who have camped out at the embassy for more than two weeks are breaking the law and will have to leave.

Maduro closed the embassy in January after the U.S. recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido (gwy-DOH') as interim president. The U.S. and 50 other nations view Maduro's re-election last year as illegitimate.

Activists from the group Codepink accuse the U.S. of trying to orchestrate a coup in Venezuela. They've been camped out at the closed embassy since April 10.

Abrams said following a speech Thursday at the Atlantic Council the activists are "clearly breaking the law."

Artwork depicting the Venezuelan flag hangs behind an empty desk in the shuttered Venezuelan Embassy, Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Washington. Activists are occupying the embassy to prevent representatives of Juan Guiado, opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president, from taking over the building. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) The Associated Press

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