The campaign was organized by Venezuelan guerillas who abducted U.S. lieutenant colonel Michael Smolen on October 9, 1964 in an effort to leverage the release of young Vietnamese patriot Nguyen Van Troi, who had been sentenced to death by the U.S. and Saigon regime for his assassination attempt on U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara.

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A daughter of a Venezuelan guerilla who took part in Nguyen Van Troi campaign

However, three days after the Caracas guerillas released the U.S. hostage on October 12, the U.S. and the Saigon administration killed Nguyen Van Troi in order to suppress the emerging anti-U.S. movement in Vietnam and around the globe.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Viet Duyen expressed his profound gratitude for guerillas of Venezuela’s Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), affirming that their action demonstrated the Venezuelan people’s support for Vietnam’s revolution.

He shared that the Vietnamese Party and State have always paid attention to martyrs and their families, invalids and those who rendered service to the revolution.

Source: VNA