Pence visits Venezuelans in Manaus, further criticizes Maduro

During a visit to a shelter for Venezuelan immigrants in Manaus, capital city of Amazonas, north Brazil, yesterday (Jun. 27), US vice-President Mike Pence further criticized the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which he described as “a brutal dictatorship.”

“Over 2 million people were forced to flee Venezuela,” Pence said, reiterating Donald Trump’s support for the Venezuelan people. “We are with you, we stand with you, and we will keep standing with you until democracy is restored in Venezuela,” he stated.

Pence landed in Manaus in the morning and was escorted to the Casa de Acolhida Santa Catarina, which shelters 79 Venezuelans. He spent approximately an hour and a half in the facility, which is run by the Caritas Archdiocese of Manaus in partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Raising awareness

Father Orlando Barbosa, vice-president of Caritas, said that Pence was moved by the work done in the shelter. “Our way—the Brazilian way—of offering shelter, simply and humanely, made an impact on his words here, as he saw how well the people and the children are in this house. I think it’s really reached him,” he said.

Father Barbosa said that this assistance may impact US policy on immigration. “This may help us hope the US keeps believing in human rights and in the defense of immigrant refugees, in both Venezuela and the world,” he added.

The father also hopes the visit may serve to strengthen the pledge made by the US to offer resources to help the immigrants. During the meeting with President Temer in Brasília, Pence announced that the US would earmark $2.6 million for assisting the Venezuelans, $260 thousand of which in Brazil.

Criticism

Before Pence was at the shelter, a note had been released by the Archdiocese of Manaus expressing outrage at the visit. In the statement, Pence is said to represent “a government that erects walls, separates children from their parents, and seeks to portray itself as defending immigrants and refugees.” The text also says that “this gesture of Trump’s government stems from a policy of control and ongoing colonialism between the United States and Latin America.”

*With information from Agencia EFE and Bianca Paiva, reported with Rádio Nacional