The victim believes the threats were in response to his and other colleagues’ requests to Sen. Marco Rubio to investigate soccer player Matías Lacava’s “entrance to the U.S.”
Surveillance video caught the moment a Miami attorney says he received threatening messages after asking Sen. Marco Rubio to investigate whether a Venezuelan soccer player with ties to the government should be allowed into the United States.
John De la Vega says the notes left on his vehicle outside his home at around 2 a.m. Friday were very clear. In red ink and capital letters they said: "Lo que es con uno, es con todos. Furia Bolivariana.” In English, the message translates to: "What's against one person, is against all. Bolivarian fury."
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WATCH HERE"Bolivarian fury" is a reference to current leader Nicolás Maduro’s regime and campaigns, a phrase often used by the president and his supporters. This phrase also appeared spray-painted onto a wall in Bayside Park in August, during protests against what was widely seen as a fraudulent presidential election.
De la Vega, an attorney from Venezuela who has also served in Iraq, says the threats were left by two people. One man taped a sign to his back windshield and left a note on the ground while another recorded from the driver's seat of a vehicle, he says.
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Hemos solicitado al Senador Marco Rubio @SenMarcoRubio investigar la entrada a EE.UU. de Matías Lacava, hijo de un alto representante del régimen chavista. Su presencia ofende los sacrificios de nuestra comunidad exiliada.
— John R. De La Vega, P.A. (@johndelavegalaw) January 13, 2025
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Es momento de… pic.twitter.com/kcsZyTH6KC
"I'm disturbed to see that we have people or groups allied with the [Hugo] Chavez regime that can get to someone's address and leave these kinds of threatening signs that makes you think, well, we're not as safe as we should be in the United States," De la Vega told our sister station Telemundo 51 in Spanish.
The victim believes the threats were in response to his and other colleagues' formal request to Sen. Marco Rubio to investigate Matías Lacava's "entrance to the U.S."
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Matías Lacava is a Venezuelan soccer player and the son of Venezuelan Governor Rafael Lacava, a "high-ranking representative of the Chavez regime," De La Vega said in a post on X.
Matías Lacava is expected to play a friendly match against the United States Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.
De la Vega said his request was for people with ties to the regime to only be allowed into the U.S. after a deeper investigation.
The attorney said he reported the threats to the FBI, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and the Department of Homeland Security.
