COMMUNISTS in Bristol welcomed Caracas-based journalist Paul Dobson on Tuesday for a public meeting in the run-up to a global day of action in support of Venezuela.

Mr Dobson, who has lived and worked in Venezuela for nine years, called for international solidarity in the light of the decision by President Barack Obama to categorise Venezuela as a national threat to the US.

He said: “Some people say that Venezuela poses no threat to the US. I disagree.

“It is not a military threat but it poses the threat of a different way of doing things, a threat like that posed historically by Cuba.”

Mr Dobson detailed major changes carried through by president Hugo Chavez and current incumbent Nicolas Maduro — from free healthcare, education and transport to the inclusion in political life of previously excluded sectors of society, including indigenous people, women, the disabled and the elderly.

He said that Mr Maduro had informed citizens that whenever the US identified a country as a threat to its national security, it was a precursor to future action.

The people had responded by mobilising in every city, town and village to sign a petition opposing US policy towards their country, with nine million signatures collected so far.

Venezuela’s revolutionary movement has urged people across the globe to take a stand on this issue and to oppose the imperialist threat.