Tarek William Saab's Son Calls Out His Father

Tarek William Saab's son beseeches him to reconsider, and take the step that could unblock the crisis. The latest murdered student, he tells his dad, "could have been me."

“Papá en este momento tienes el poder de poner fin a la injusticia que ha hundido al país. Te pido como hijo, y en nombre de Venezuela, a la cual tú sirves, que reflexiones y hagas lo que tienes que hacer. Te entiendo, sé que no es fácil, pero es lo correcto.”

Dad, right now you have the power to put an end to the injustice that has drowned this country. I ask as your son, and in the name of Venezuela, the country that you serve, that you think and do what you have to fo. I understand you, I know it’s not easy, but it is the right thing to do.

Yibram Saab Fornino, C.I. 21,706,886

Tarek William Saab, Venezuela’s Human Rights Ombudsman, stands in a strange position with regard to the crisis. His vote could unlock the solution to the current crisis. Together with the Prosecutor General, Luisa Ortega Díaz, the Ombudsman could overturn the illegal appointment of the 13 judges crammed into the Supreme Tribunal at the end of 2015. The Supreme Tribunal, you’ll recall, is at the center of the current crisis: its decisions usurping the National Assembly’s prerogatives were the event that set off this month’s protests.

Tarek has the power to change all that.

His son, Yibram, just reminded him. In public. On YouTube. And beseeched him to change course and save the patria.

My respects to this kid. That’s cojones right there.

Emiliana Duarte

Emi is a cook, a lover of animals, politics, expletives, and Venezuela. She is the co-founder of Caracas Chronicles LLC and Managing Editor if the site until December 2017.