Venezuelan demonstration held in Lafayette amid election disputes
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Around the world, Venezuelans are protesting after they say the recent election in Venezuela is a fraud.
The election occurred in July, with incumbent President Nicolas Maduro facing off against independent nominee Edmundo Gonzalez. With millions of votes cast, the results declared the incumbent the winner. However, the outcome has sparked allegations of electoral fraud.
The coordinator of the demonstration, Jose Blanco, calls Maduro a dictator and says he and others are advocating to have a government that will prioritize the rights of its citizens.
"It's been almost three weeks so far, and he got to jail, more than 2,000 people and so far, more than 24 dead because we try to demonstrate," Blanco said. "People already changed, we don't want this government again and we need to walk in a different way now, the way of the free."
Gladys Gonzalez said she is originally from Venezuela but moved to Lafayette. She said the election was stolen and believes if the right person were elected, it would have paved the way for the recovery of the Venezuelan economy.
"They cheated us; they lost the election, but they say they won, and that is not true; we want to support people in Venezuela; we want to return to our country," Gonzalez said. "We thought with election we could do it, but no, the government didn't let us do it."
As protests continue worldwide, Gonzalez said now is the time for the Venezuelan community to unite to get what they are looking for.
"Everybody is here supporting Venezuela and our country; we need to be united, so that way we can find what we want to do," Gonzalez said.
Reports say that Latin American leaders will meet this weekend to discuss solutions to this crisis.