Fabiana Rosales

Fabiana Andreina Rosales Guerrero[1] (born 22 April 1992 in Tovar, Mérida State, Venezuela) also known as Fabiana Rosales de Guaidó[2] is a Venezuelan journalist and social media human rights activist.[3] She is married to Juan Guaidó, president of the National Assembly and a claimant to the country's acting presidency in the Venezuelan presidential crisis.[4] She is considered by the White House and the National Assembly of Venezuela as the first lady of Venezuela.[5][6]

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rosales the second or maternal family name is Guerrero, and for married women, the optional marital name is de Guaidó.

Rosales in 2019

Family and education

Fabiana Andreína Rosales Guerrero was born on 22 April 1992 in the town of Tovar, Mérida State.[7] Her father, Carlos Rosales Belandria[4] was a farmer and her mother, Elsy Guerrero a journalist. As a child, she observed her mother's interviews and became interested in social issues. She assisted in running the family farm and decided to study journalism.[5] Her father died after having a heart attack in 2013, for which she blames the shortages in Venezuela.[5] Her cousin died similarly, because products for a blood transfusion could not be found.[4] In 2013, she graduated from Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín with a degree in journalism and social communications.[8] She worked in Mérida state for a city council as a press officer, and later held a similar position after moving to Caracas.[9]

Rosales met Juan Guaidó at a youth rally,[5] and they married in 2013.[9] They have a daughter who was born in 2017.[7]

Political activism
Rosales with Guaidó at a protest in February 2019

During her university studies, Rosales began working for the opposition party Popular Will (Spanish: Voluntad Popular).[5] As a human rights activist, she had close to 150,000 followers on Instagram as of 26 January 2019.[3] She has stated that a motivating factor for her is that she does not "want [her] daughter to grow up wanting to leave Venezuela",[10] and that she is "working for [her] daughter to inherit a better country".[5]

During the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Guaidó was designated acting president by the Venezuelan National Assembly, contesting the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro.[5] More than 50 governments have recognized Guaidó as the acting president of Venezuela,[11][12] which implicitly gives Rosales a claim to being the First Lady of Venezuela.[2][5][13] She told Reuters that spies and "pro-government armed groups" follow her and Guaidó.[9]

Foreign relations
Rosales with Trump

The New York Times says Rosales is "emerging as a prominent figure in [Guaidó's] campaign to bring change to the crisis-wracked country".[5] She has assumed the role of international ambassador for the opposition, meeting with Bolivarian diaspora and regional leaders to solicit support for the opposition and her country.[5] Rosales started in Latin America, meeting with Martín Vizcarra and Sebastián Piñera, presidents of Peru and Chile respectively, in March 2019.[14]

On 27 March, she visited the White House to meet with US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.[14] She said that the crisis in Venezuela is serious, describing it as "freedom or dictatorship, life or death".[10] Trump said it was a "great honor to have the first lady of Venezuela".[5] From Washington, D.C., she went next to a meeting with Miami mayor Carlos A. Giménez, where she was given the key to Miami-Dade County.[15]

The Associated Press wrote that her "opponents have cast her recent tour as a desperate attempt to keep Guaido in the international spotlight", and quoted a diplomat from the Maduro administration, who said, "She is trying to boost Guaido's image, as support for his movement in Venezuela deflates".[5]

References
  1. "¿Quién es Fabiana Rosales, la esposa del autoproclamado presidente de Venezuela Juan Guaidó?". El Heraldo (in Spanish). 26 January 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  2. "A conversation with Venezuelan interim First Lady Fabiana Rosales de Guaidó". CSIS. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019. Husband's name also at C-Span, Pavlovic Today and The Star.
  3. "¿Quién es Fabiana Rosales? La esposa de Guaidó, periodista e influencer". El Nacional (in Spanish). 26 January 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  4. Delgado, Antonio Maria (30 March 2019). "'We have to stop this crisis,' says Venezuela's interim first lady, wife of Juan Guaidó". Miami Herald. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  5. Rueda, Manual and Franklin Briceno (27 March 2019). "Venezuelan opposition leader's wife emerges as potent force". The New York Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 March 2019. Also available online at AP News
  6. Alvarado, Eleyn (29 March 2019). "Fabiana Rosales agradeció a Melania Trump compromiso con Venezuela". República Bolivariana de Venezuela Asamblea Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  7. "Fabiana Rosales ejemplo de la mujer venezolana". Asiesmargarita.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  8. "Quién es Fabiana Rosales, la joven periodista que enamoró a Juan Guaidó". El Comercio (in Spanish). 1 February 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  9. Cohen, Luc and Roberta Rampton (28 March 2019). "Venezuela's Fabiana Rosales, a young activist, emerges into the political spotlight". Reuters. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  10. Lemon, Jason (27 March 2019). "Who is Fabiana Rosales? Venezuela's opposition leader's wife meets Donald Trump, says situation is 'life or death'". Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  11. "Venezuela opposition plans aid hub in Brazil, mobilizes volunteers". France 24. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  12. Meredith, Sam (12 February 2019). "How a nationwide protest against Maduro could shape Venezuela's future". CNBC. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  13. Alvarado, Eleyn (29 March 2019). "Fabiana Rosales agradeció a Melania Trump compromiso con Venezuela". República Bolivariana de Venezuela Asamblea Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  14. Alba, Monica (27 March 2019). "Trump: 'Russia needs to get out' of Venezuela, tells opposition he's with them '100 percent'". NBC News. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  15. "Venezuela opposition leader's wife, Fabiana Rosales, meets with Miami leaders". NBC Miami. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Cilia Flores		 Acting First Lady of Venezuela
2019–present
Disputed with Cilia Flores		 Incumbent
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