Andrei Sannikov: Maduro's Fall Gives Hope To Belarusians Too

In Venezuela, a landmark event for the whole world took place.

U.S. aircraft have struck military targets in Venezuela. Today, January 3, Donald Trump announced that U.S. troops have captured dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

If Maduro is indeed removed from power, who can take over? How can events in Venezuela develop further?

The following questions Charter97.org asked the leader of the civil campaign "European Belarus" Andrei Sannikov:

- First, this event has been brewing for a long time. Maduro believed that he was under some kind of protection of other dictators, including Lukashenko, who insistently called him "to Drozdas," apparently to pocket the capital stolen by the Venezuelan dictator. It did not work out.

What happened in Venezuela is a landmark event not only for this country, but also for the whole world. It has become obvious that in dictatorial countries it is impossible to change the situation only by elections and documented evidence that the opposition won. Today is a different time, and dictators are celebrating their "Pyrrhic victories" all over the world. They can only be thrown off by the decisive action of the democratic world in support of internal revolutions. This is exactly what is happening in Venezuela now.

From the point of view of the succession of power - the situation there is the easiest, because the elections have already been held. In fact, Maria Corina Machado won - she campaigned vigorously, but since everything was done to prevent her from participating in the election, the opposition candidate and the winner of the election was Edmundo Gonzalez. He is the one who should become the legitimate president. Based on independent observers and well documented election results, he is the one most likely to be sworn in. I think that should happen soon.

When we were summarizing the year, I said that it wasn't such a bad year, because there is popular unrest in Iran, where the people are determined to remove the regime from power. Serious processes are underway in Uganda, where, by all accounts, the opposition candidate Bobi Wine enjoys the greatest support. The elections there are to be held on January 15, and already today there is a tough confrontation between the authorities and the opposition.

I have many friends among the leaders of the Venezuelan opposition, and I congratulate them with pleasure on their long-awaited victory.

The events in Venezuela give hope that this year will be a turning point for Belarus as well.

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