委内瑞拉反对派领袖玛丽亚·科里纳·马查多的支持者走上南美洲这个国家的街头,要求确保她安全返回。
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have taken to the streets of the South American country to demand her safe return.
委内瑞拉加拉加斯——委内瑞拉反对派领袖玛丽亚·科里纳·马查多的支持者周日走上街头,要求确保她安全返回,并举行可能推动委内瑞拉实现民主过渡的总统选举。委内瑞拉政府被广泛指控窃取选举结果、监禁异见人士以及压制言论自由。
CLBYBURN SAINT JOHN CARACAS, Venezuela — Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado took to the country’s streets on Sunday to demand her safe return and presidential elections that could lead to a democratic transition in Venezuela. The government has been widely accused of stealing elections, jailing dissidents and stifling freedom of speech.
在加拉加斯,数百名身穿天蓝色衬衫——马查多所属政党“委内瑞拉前进”的标志性颜色——的活动人士骑着摩托车,驾车驶过城市的主要大道,鸣响喇叭并挥舞委内瑞拉国旗。在瓦伦西亚、马拉开波和梅里达等州首府也举行了类似的示威活动。
In Caracas, hundreds of activists in sky blue shirts — the color of Machado’s Vente Venezuela party — rode motorcycles and drove through the city’s main avenues, honking their horns and waving Venezuelan flags. Similar demonstrations were held in state capitals including Valencia, Maracaibo and Merida.
加拉加斯“委内瑞拉前进”党活动人士弗拉维奥·瓦伦蒂尼拿起扩音器对人群发表讲话:“这不是党派或政治问题。这是一场属于人民、由人民发起的运动。”马查多过去九个月一直流亡海外,其返回委内瑞拉的计划多次受阻。反对派活动人士指责委内瑞拉政府阻挠她回国,但委内瑞拉当局否认了这一说法。
“This is not a matter of parties or politics,” said Flavio Valentini, a Vente Venezuela activist in Caracas who grabbed a megaphone and addressed the crowd. “This is a movement for the people and by the people.” Machado has been living in exile for the past nine months, and has had her plans to return to Venezuela spoiled multiple times. Opposition activists have accused Venezuela’s government of blocking her return, a claim denied by Venezuelan authorities. Machado’s party said this week that on Monday night, the opposition leader made three unsuccessful attempts to return.
马查多所属政党本周表示,周一晚间,这位反对派领袖曾三次尝试返回,但均未成功。
“We hope this transition process leads us to presidential elections and consolidates a free, democratic country that will be the main ally of the United States,” said Anthony Romero, a leader for Vente Venezuela in the nation’s capital.
“我们希望这一过渡进程能引导我们走向总统选举,并巩固一个自由、民主的国家,使其成为美国的主要盟友,”“委内瑞拉前进”党在首都的领导人安东尼·罗梅罗表示。
“We hope this transition process leads us to presidential elections and consolidates a free, democratic country that will be the main ally of the United States,” said Anthony Romero, a leader for Vente Venezuela in the nation’s capital.
马查多是委内瑞拉最受欢迎的政治领袖之一,曾被前总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗控制的法院禁止参加委内瑞拉上届总统大选。但她的替身候选人普遍被认为以近三分之二的得票率赢得了大选,马杜罗仍宣称胜选,并对抗议官方结果的异见人士发动暴力镇压,迫使马查多和数十名反对派领导人被迫躲藏。
Machado, one of Venezuela’s most popular political leaders, was barred from running in Venezuela’s last presidential election by courts under the control of former President Nicolás Maduro. But her stand-in candidate is widely believed to have won the election with almost two thirds of the vote Maduro claimed victory nevertheless, and unleashed a violent crackdown against dissidents who protested the official results, forcing Machado and dozens of opposition leaders to go into hiding.
去年,马查多因为恢复这个南美国家的民主所做的努力而获得诺贝尔和平奖后,偷偷离开了委内瑞拉。美国军事行动于1月推翻了马杜罗,但马查多此后一直无法返回委内瑞拉。政府现由马杜罗盟友德尔西·罗德里格斯领导,她已向外国投资开放委内瑞拉石油行业,并正与特朗普政府密切合作。
Last year, Machado smuggled herself out of Venezuela after she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to restore democracy in the South American country. A U.S. military operation removed Maduro in January But Machado has been unable to return to Venezuela since then. The government is now led by Delcy Rodríguez, a Maduro ally who has opened Venezuela’s oil industry to foreign investment and is now working closely with the Trump administration.
马查多团队周一表示,这位现驻巴拿马的反对派领袖试图乘船返回委内瑞拉,但包租其船只的公司在出发前几小时取消了行程,声称船只不适合航行。马查多团队称,随后她试图飞往库拉索,以便从那里乘快艇前往委内瑞拉,但其飞机被拒发降落许可。她的政党称,今年马查多已尝试返回委内瑞拉七次均告失败,一些批评者质疑特朗普政府是否也参与了阻止她返回的行动。
Machado’s team said Monday that the opposition leader, who is now based in Panama, attempted to return to Venezuela by sea, but the company that chartered her boat canceled the trip hours before leaving, alleging its vessel was unfit for navigation. Machado later tried to fly to Curacao, her team said, from where she could take a speed boat to Venezuela, but her plane was denied landing permits. In total, Machado has made seven unsuccessful attempts to return to Venezuela this year, her party says, with some critics questioning whether the Trump administration is also involved in the efforts to stop her from returning.
特朗普政府官员否认阻挠马查多,但表示有时曾建议她因安全顾虑不要返回该国。
Trump administration officials deny they are holding Machado back, but have said that on some occasions they have advised that she not return to the country due to safety concerns.
本月早些时候,美国国务卿马尔科·鲁比奥在新闻发布会上表示,马查多“拥有在任何她想回国的时候进入自己国家的权利”。周三,鲁比奥表示他不了解马查多最近返回这个南美国家的努力。
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a news conference that Machado has “every right to enter her country whenever she wants to return.” On Wednesday, Rubio said he was unaware of Machado’s most recent efforts to go back to the South American country.
鲁比奥说,美国希望看到成千上万的委内瑞拉人返回祖国并“开设他们失去的企业”。这位国务卿长期以来一直主张,在举行新的选举之前,委内瑞拉必须稳定经济并重建其机构,如法院和选举委员会。美联社记者曼努埃尔·鲁埃达从哥伦比亚波哥大发回报道。
Rubio said the United States would like to see thousands of Venezuelans return to their country and “open the businesses that they lost.” The Secretary of State has long argued that before holding new elections, Venezuela must stabilize its economy and rebuild its institutions, like its courts and its electoral council. Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda contributed from Bogota, Colombia.