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Édgar Ramírez is opening up about his homeland. The 47-year-old Borderlands actor spoke about Venezuela, and why he hasn’t traveled home to the country in about seven years, at the premiere of his new movie while holding the Venezuelan flag. “I can’t because I’m vocal against Maduro and the government,” he said to Variety‘s Marc Malkin on the red carpet. Keep reading to find out more… “It hurts. The capital punishment for the ancient Greeks wasn’t death — it was exile. You turn into an emotional zombie in a way. The pain of having to leave your country not because you want to, but because you’re forced to do it. That’s why the immigration issue is so delicate because no one — no one! — wants to leave home. You want to see the world but no one wants to leave the world that they know.” After President Nicolás Maduro declared he won reelection on July 28 over Edmundo González Urrutia, protestors erupted throughout the country and beyond. Critics, including the U.S. government, have accused him of trying to steal the election. “Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, via MSNBC. The actor said he is worried about family and friends living in Venezuela. “We have been in the streets. We have done everything to exercise the system that we were all raised with, which is a democratic system,” he said. “This regime just spits in the face of Venezuelans. They stole the election. They’re refusing to show the receipts and all the proof that we have. It’s a terrible precedent for the entire region.” “Of course we are scared. We are all scared. They are cracking down on people. As of today 22 people have been killed, over 1,000 have been forcefully detained and basically kidnapped. It’s horrible that it’s happening in today’s world. I think Americans really need to pay attention to what is happening in Venezuela,” he went on to say.
