# Venezuelan embassy occupation (2019)

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Venezuelan embassy occupation (2019)," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/venezuelan-embassy-2019/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*A 2019 sit-in at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C., which John Kiriakou says he joined at the Venezuelan government's request the night the United States broke relations with Venezuela; he says he still keeps Venezuelan government property from that night at his house.*

- **Location:** Venezuelan embassy, Washington, D.C.
- **Participants (per Kiriakou):** About two dozen people, including John Kiriakou
- **Reason (per Kiriakou):** At the Venezuelan government's request, the night the U.S. broke relations with Venezuela

The **Venezuelan embassy occupation** was a 2019 sit-in at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C. [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) says he was one of about two dozen people who went into the embassy that night at the Venezuelan government's request, as the United States was breaking relations with Venezuela; he says he still has some of the Venezuelan government's property sitting around his house, which he is holding until the government can retake the embassy and reclaim it.[1][2]

Kiriakou recounts that as he left the embassy that night, past a crowd of dueling pro- and anti-Venezuelan-government chants, he overheard one uniformed Secret Service officer say to another, of the crowd outside, *"The ones that are out here are with us. The ones that are in there are with Putin."* Kiriakou cites the remark as an example of the U.S. government feeding its own people and employees propaganda that makes it easier to hate people over political disagreements.[3][4]

## See also

- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou on Venezuela Strikes, Regime Change Talk, (2025-09-06), at 35:43. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RqBVs-P6WY&t=2143s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-connecting-the-dots-podcas/
2. John Kiriakou on Venezuela Strikes, Regime Change Talk, (2025-09-06), at 36:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RqBVs-P6WY&t=2173s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-connecting-the-dots-podcas/
3. John Kiriakou on Venezuela Strikes, Regime Change Talk, (2025-09-06), at 36:44. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RqBVs-P6WY&t=2204s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-connecting-the-dots-podcas/
4. John Kiriakou on Venezuela Strikes, Regime Change Talk, (2025-09-06), at 37:14. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RqBVs-P6WY&t=2234s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-connecting-the-dots-podcas/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/venezuelan-embassy-2019/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt