MIAMI, (Reuters) – Thousands of Venezuelan expatriates living in the United States are so eager to see President Hugo Chavez ousted from power that they plan to travel to New Orleans this week to vote against him.
“It’s a small price to pay,” said Jesus Lopez, a Venezuelan financial adviser who lives in Miami and says he will pay more than $500 to go and vote. “If I had to sell my watch, even the shirt off my back, to make this trip, I wouldn’t think twice.”
Many of the Venezuelans residing in the United States live in Florida and are vehement opponents of the socialist Chavez. They plan to travel on charter or commercial flights, or in caravans of buses and cars, to New Orleans to cast their ballot in the election on Sunday.
With polls suggesting the Venezuela election could be close, they hope their votes will help end Chavez’s long rule.
For many, it is the only way to vote after Chavez this year ordered the closure of Venezuela’s consulate in Miami, home to a large and growing Venezuelan community and normally the biggest voting center outside the country. Venezuela only allows in-person voting.
Chavez said he took the decision after the U.S. government expelled a Miami-based Venezuelan diplomat on allegations that she discussed potential cyber-attacks on the United States with Iranian and Cuban diplomats, a charge Chavez angrily denied.
