As tension continues in Venezuela following the presidential elections on Sunday (July 28), when the Venezuelan electoral authority declared Nicolás Maduro the winner and the opposition denounced irregularities in the count and claimed that their candidate Edmundo González had won with almost 70% of the votes, Venezuelan and foreign artists have spoken out about the difficult situation in the South American country.
Whether expressing solidarity with the Venezuelan people or sharing images of the demonstrations that have turned violent in the face of repression by the Armed Forces and the police, Venezuelan stars like Nacho, Lele Pons and Elena Rose, as well as foreigners like Juan Luis Guerra, Gloria Trevi and Don Omar, have shared messages of support with their millions of followers.
One of those who has been most vocal from exile is Danny Ocean, who in recent days posted an emotional video on his Instagram account calling on the family members of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) and police forces to make them see reason to prevent further bloodshed.
The demonstrations in Venezuela have left “at least 20 dead, dozens injured, and hundreds detained,” reports Univision Noticias. While the government has refused to make public the voting records that would show Maduro has won, opposition leader María Corina Machado and her team published theirs on the internet, with election witnesses also showing them on social media. The U.S. government has recognized Edmundo González as the winner of the elections.
Danny Ocean, who left Venezuela in 2015, feels that the only way for this to end is with the support of the militia, and that is why he insists on his call. In this “as told to” narrative, the Venezuelan musician reflects on the situation in his country and invites his colleagues to unite in a single message.
I don’t even know where to start. What is happening in Venezuela hurts me a lot. It hurts to see the number of kids who are dying right now in the streets, and I feel that the only ones who can ease this and reduce this are the National Armed Forces and the police.
I know that they must not be having an easy time either, honestly. But, I don’t know, that’s how I feel. Everything I have been talking about from my side has been from the heart, trying to be as sensible as possible. And I also don’t want to interfere with the communication that is happening right now with Venezuela; I am trying to support all the people who are trying to talk to their children, helping to pass information about the people who are inside Venezuela.
From my side, I don’t want to be putting out information like this arbitrarily; I think it’s necessary to give space to digital media so they can communicate what they want to communicate. I just want to call on the relatives of the military to please talk to them, tell them that we are really tired. They know what is happening and what is really going on and what is right and what is wrong. They are the only ones who can help the people so that there is no massacre in the streets.
If we want to get out of this mess, because this is no longer a political issue of left, right, blue, red, yellow, none of that crap. No. This is now a situation of good against evil. And about people being tired. People are really tired.
And beyond that, there are almost 8 million Venezuelans who are abroad, as I said in my post, and the region is not prepared for another massive wave [of emigrants]. And we don’t want more broken families. Enough is enough! If that number is so high, it’s for a reason. If there’s smoke, there’s fire. This is something very important for the international community to understand, because we are really tired, and the military knows it.
The game right now is on their side. It really depends on them. And I, as a spokesperson, as an artist, am trying to simply carry my message on that side.
[I would like to see Venezuela] prosperous, with chances to grow, where people don’t have to worry about their future, don’t have to worry about having to leave to seek a better future. A place where there is room for everything. Venezuela has everything for everyone to do something incredible. That’s what I hope happens at the end of all this.
But now I’m trying to focus on the present, on what is happening. Right now I think we need to all get together, guys. People are dying in the streets.
I see artists throwing crap at each other [on social media]. That doesn’t work. The messages have to be positive. I know there is a lot of pain, I know there are many things stored inside, but it’s not the time to be throwing crap at each other. It’s very important that at least the community of artists among us Venezuelans are aligned with the messages we are giving.
If all the artists got on a wave of pleading with our militia and our police to help and collaborate — because they are the only ones who can reduce that number [of victims] — that would be great. I think it would be a spectacular movement if we all united with that message.
