By Elías Jaua Milano – May 24, 2026
This message of gratitude is addressed to every Venezuelan woman and man who expressed their anger and discontent today. To every woman and man who showed their love for Venezuela by writing something on social media or signing a statement; to every family who raised the beautiful tricolor flag—our flag, the flag of Miranda and Bolívar, the flag of all Venezuela—in their window; to every young person who made the walls speak through graffiti or a mural; to every political, social, and cultural movement; and to every group of patriots gathered in a plaza or any other public place, with our flag, banners, and posters, sang “Glory to the Brave People,” and broke the silence with impassioned words of protest against the ignominy, with heartfelt words of love for our homeland.
There were hundreds of thousands of gestures, actions, and initiatives, perhaps modest, but profoundly significant. These small and beautiful forms of civic and popular resistance against yet another violation of our airspace by the US occupying power offer lessons for the struggles to come.
The first lesson is that significant sectors of the population are unwilling to accept the occupation and colonial administration imposed upon us as a nation. The second is our capacity for self-organization: thousands of initiatives circulating online broke the consensus imposed upon us by traditional media through word of mouth, resulting in actions of profound moral significance. The third is the demonstrated creativity in achieving results without resources, reflecting an awareness of the urgent need to act. Today, we did it. Organization will follow; let no one despair.
Perhaps this May 23, 2026, will go down in history not as the day the foreign occupier dared to conduct military exercises in our homeland, but as the day the civic resistance that will lead us to recover our national independence began, the one our ancestors won with Bolívar at the helm.
Fellow citizens, you have broken the silence. Thank you!
From a Venezuelan like yourselves!
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
Elias Jaua Milano
Elías José Jaua Milano is a Venezuelan politician and former university professor who served as Vice President of Venezuela from January 2010 to October 2012.He was Minister of Foreign Affairs since January 2013. Jaua obtained a Sociology degree from the Central University of Venezuela. In 2000 he was part of the Comisión Legislativa Nacional and Minister of the Secretaría de la Presidencia from 2000 to 2001.
He was nominated as Venezuelan Ambassador to Argentina in 2002. Jaua served as Minister of Agriculture in President Hugo Chávez's government before being appointed as Vice-President in January 2010, while remaining Minister of Agriculture. On 15 December 2011, following a major reshuffle of the Venezuelan political leadership, President Chávez proposed Jaua to be the PSUV candidate for governor of the state of Miranda (reported in El Universal).
He resigned the vice presidency on 13 October 2012 to compete in the election and was replaced by Nicolás Maduro. He lost the election on 16 December 2012 to the former governor Henrique Capriles who had stepped down in June 2012 to unsuccessfully challenge Hugo Chávez for President. Jaua succeeded Nicolás Maduro as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 15 January 2013.
