We in the Chicago Alex Saab campaign were asked by Oscar Lopez Rivera to be part of the Alex Saab contingent this Saturday June 11 at the Puerto Rico People’s Day Parade. Oscar Lopez Rivera will be kicking off the whole parade march, and he may be with our contingent for a while. Also in our contingent will be Centro Sin Fronteras.
Meeting place: Division and Campbell, 1:15 pm (Division is 1200 North and Campbell one block west of Western, 2400 West). Saturday, June 11.
We will be carrying the above banner and the flags of Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Mexico at the head of our contingent.
This will be the best opportunity we have had so far in Chicago to do a lot of public outreach on the case. It also marks the second anniversary of Alex Saab’s imprisonment (June 12, 2020).
Below is the statement by Oscar Lopez Rivera on the Alex Saab case, in English and Spanish. We will be distributing 500 copies of it at the Parade.
I hope you can attend and march in the contingent, help carry the banner and help distribute flyers.
Meeting place: Division and Campbell, 1:15 pm (Division is 1200 North and Campbell one block west of Western, 2400 West). Any problems finding us there, my number is 773-322-3168.
Hope you can come. It should be impressive with Oscar Lopez Rivera back in town to lead the march,
Stan
The flyer:
My name is Oscar Lopez Rivera, I’m a former Puerto Rican political prisoner who spent 36 years in prison in the United States for fighting against the colonial status of my country.
Having suffered all kinds of abuse while incarcerated, I can understand the critical situation that Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab is experiencing at this time.
From my own experience, I can understand the pain of Camilla Fabri Saab, wife of Alex Saab. I can empathize with the suffering of his children who have not seen their father for almost two years. I can comprehend Alex Saab’s pain upon learning of the death of not one, but both, of his parents while he was in prison in an unwelcoming unknown land.
On June 12, 2020, the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab was seized by order of U.S. officials, during a refueling stop on a flight from Venezuela to Iran. He was imprisoned on Cabo Verde, a small island nation off the western coast of Africa, for trying to buy humanitarian supplies in legal international trade but in violation of unilateral illegal US sanctions.
On October 16th, 2021, Saab was kidnapped from Cabo Verde, by U.S. officials, desperately acting before the legal process in Cape Verde was complete, and is now being illegally held in the Federal Detention Center in Miami, FL. The case raises dangerous precedents both in terms of the violation of rules which have been established for centuries governing the freedom of movement of diplomats, and in the US forcing other countries to abide by US sanctions – or unilateral coercive measures – against Venezuela and 40 other countries, comprising one third of humanity.
Alex Saab’s only “crime” is following the orders of his president on behalf of the people of Venezuela and finding ways to legally engage in trade to alleviate the hardship caused by the United States.
The Venezuelan people as well as the Puerto Rican people are fighting for their sovereignty. The United States intends to strangle the Venezuelan economy and break the legitimate resistance of the people of Simon Bolivar, the liberator.
The arrest, imprisonment, kidnapping and torture of a diplomat is an unprecedented violation of international laws. The international community must sit up and take notice of what has been done. Yesterday, Alex Saab, tomorrow it could be anyone of you.
As a former political prisoner, as a man who has fought against colonialism, and as a Latin American, I invite all people of the “Patria Grande”, wherever they are, say in unison with us, “Free Alex Saab Now!”
Thank you very much for your support on behalf of the Alex Saab family, the Venezuelan people and my own.
Oscar Lopez Rivera, Honorary Chair of Free Alex Saab Campaign
ChicagofreeAlexSaabCommittee@gmail.com
Mi nombre es Oscar López Rivera, soy un ex preso político puertorriqueño que pasó 36 años en prisión en Estados Unidos por luchar en contra del estatus colonial de mi país.
Habiendo sufrido todo tipo de abusos mientras estaba encarcelado, puedo entender la situación crítica que está viviendo el diplomático venezolano Alex Saab en estos momentos.
Por mi propia experiencia, puedo entender el dolor de Camilla Fabri Saab, esposa de Alex Saab. Puedo sentir afinidad con el sufrimiento de sus hijos, que llevan casi dos años sin ver a su padre. Puedo comprender el dolor de Alex Saab al enterarse de la muerte no de uno, sino de sus padres mientras estaba preso en una tierra desconocida y poco acogedora.
El 12 de junio de 2020, el diplomático venezolano Alex Saab fue apresado por órden de funcionarios estadounidenses, durante una parada para repostar en un vuelo de Venezuela a Irán. Fue encarcelado en Cabo Verde, una pequeña nación insular frente a la costa occidental de África, por tratar de comprar suministros humanitarios en el comercio internacional legal, pero en violación de las sanciones ilegales unilaterales de Estados Unidos.
El 16 de octubre de 2021, Saab fue secuestrado en Cabo Verde por funcionarios estadounidenses, que actuaron desesperadamente antes de que se completara el proceso legal en Cabo Verde, y ahora está detenido ilegalmente en el Centro Federal de Detención de Miami, FL. El caso sienta peligrosos precedentes, tanto por la violación de las normas establecidas desde hace siglos que regulan la libertad de movimiento de los diplomáticos, como por el hecho de que Estados Unidos obligue a otros países a acatar las sanciones estadounidenses, o medidas coercitivas unilaterales, contra Venezuela y otros 40 países, que constituyen un tercio de la humanidad.
El único “delito” de Alex Saab es seguir las órdenes de su presidente en nombre del pueblo de Venezuela y encontrar la manera de comerciar legalmente para aliviar las penurias causadas por Estados Unidos.
El pueblo venezolano, al igual que el puertorriqueño, está luchando por su soberanía. Estados Unidos pretende estrangular la economía venezolana y quebrar la legítima resistencia del pueblo de Simón Bolívar, el libertador.
La detención, el encarcelamiento, el secuestro y la tortura de un diplomático es una violación sin precedentes de las leyes internacionales. La comunidad internacional debe sentarse y tomar nota de lo que se ha hecho. Ayer, Alex Saab, mañana podría ser cualquiera de ustedes.
Como ex preso político, como hombre que ha luchado contra el colonialismo y como latinoamericano, invito a todos los pueblos de la “Patría Grande”, donde quiera que estén, a decir al unísono con nosotros: “¡Liberen a Alex Saab ya!”
Muchas gracias por su apoyo en nombre de la familia de Alex Saab, del pueblo venezolano y del mío propio.
Oscar López Rivera, Portavoz Honorario de la Campaña Free Alex Saab ChicagofreeAlexSaabCommittee@gmail.com
Chicago ALBA Solidarity 
Thank you Mr. Rivera, for your statement. I have written before to Biden re: Alex Saab, but will do so again, until Saab is released.
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