Invitation to Venezuelan ambassador is withdrawn

Community members raise eyebrows over Venezuela’s politics

by Maggy Baccinelli

Never mind! Venezuelan Ambassador Berardo Alvarez Herrera will not be meeting with Montgomery County officials.

The Venezuelan Ambassador’s invitation to meet with Montgomery County leaders this month was taken back, on account of rankled community members who saw the gesture as a sign of accepting Venezuelan political philosophy.

Montgomery County Council member Marc Elrich (D-At Large) extended the invitation to Bernardo Alvarez Herrera after speaking to embassy representatives informally at a District rally to support union workers. Representatives showed interest in learning about the county community and becoming more involved in social welfare, said Elrich, who was surprised by the overwhelmingly negative response he received.

He said the county is not typically criticized for its relationships with many nations exercising debatable political and human rights policies.

“No one is complaining about the county going on a trade mission to China,” he said. “And you couldn’t have a worse human rights record than China … But no one is going to object to going there because they’re all drooling over money.”

County Executive Isiah Legget (D), who returned from Israel on Oct. 14 where he was on an economic trade mission, opposed the meeting. Legget said the county is not criticized for pursuing economic interests in countries with debated policies because “we are pursuing private businesses, rather than collaborating directly with governments.” He said he would have to determine whether to pursue economic ties with a government-run company on a case-by-case basis.

“I’m not opposed to groups throughout the county meeting with the Ambassador and seeking funding and help,” said Legget. “Groups do this all the time. I just don’t think the county should participate on an executive level.”

Elrich stated that the strategy and organization details behind the meeting may have been the driving force behind council member and resident criticism.

“I think the meeting was misconstrued as an official county event, but I wasn’t making an effort to do that at all,” said Elrich. “I was answering a request out of conversation I had and was trying to facilitate it on my own.”

The Venezuelan Embassy has made social welfare efforts in Prince George’s county. A Venezuela government-owned oil company, Citgo, donated $412,000 last year to an apartment complex of primarily low-income housing. CASA, an immigrant advocacy group helped facilitate this donation, which provided 16,000 families with lower heating costs, as the group has ties with the apartment complex.

“We welcome the Venezuelan Ambassador to Montgomery County as we welcome all ambassadors,” said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director for CASA. “Low-income families are part of our target population and to me the bottom line is that they receive as many benefits as they can.

“In this case though, the approach wasn’t right,” said Torres. “When we invite representatives of countries experiencing social and political changes, we need to plan carefully and very very well.”

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