September 9, 2020
Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, on Sunday lamented the death of U.S. human rights defender Kevin Zeese, one of the activists who defended the Venezuelan embassy in the U.S. for several weeks in 2019.
“We deeply regret the unexpected departure of our brother Kevin Zeese. A brave peace activist and human rights defender,” said the Venezuelan foreign minister.
“One of the American heroes who defended our Embassy to the end. Our condolences to his partner Margaret and all his family,” Arreaza said on his Twitter account.
Zeese died this Sunday morning and was the leader of the Protection Collective of the Venezuelan Embassy in D.C.
“Kevin was a brilliant writer, organizer, strategist and visionary. Where there was injustice, Kevin was there, with his partner Margaret Flowers and Popular Resistance,” said the Anti-War blog.
As part of the Embassy Protection Collective, Zeese along with Adrienne Pine, Margaret Flowers and David Paul spent 37 days at Venezuela’s diplomatic headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2019.
The group protected the property when U.S. authorities attempted an illegal takeover of the embassy, contrary to international law.
On social networks, numerous users also expressed their sadness for Zeese’s departure, whom they remembered for his activism.
“In addition to his influential progressive activism, Kevin Zeese also helped run an extremely important independent news website, People’s Resistance, which challenged imperialist propaganda against Venezuela, Nicaragua, China, Russia, Syria and Belarus,” independent journalist Ben Norton said on his Twitter account.
Source: teleSUR, translation Resumen Latinoamericano, North America bureau