Over the past month, thousands of students from universities all over Venezuela have staged massive protests against President Nicolas Maduro. The streets of Venezuelan cities have been flooded with people showing their discontent for the president’s social and economic policies, which have driven the country to its worst economic condition in decades and have made the capital of Caracas a hotbed for kidnappings and violent crime.

In Maduro’s tenure, the country has seen some of its gravest domestic concerns yet. Rising inflation rates have depreciated Venezuelans’ acquisitive purchasing power. Government delinquency and impunity have taken the lives of 25,000 ordinary citizens without bringing the responsible parties to justice. A government monopoly on news channels has violated our fundamental rights of free speech and the ability to convey information from person to person. It is no wonder why so many students have decided to take to the streets and express their discontent with the situation in which they live.

But solutions to these domestic problems are within the parameters of the government and the constitution — though the constitution, too, has been manipulated by the government. Rather, Venezuela needs attention from the international community because of the other crimes committed against its people: the oppression and persecution of harmless students on the streets, 15 of whose lives have already been taken by government forces.

Venezuelan citizens face extreme injustice as the national armed forces and government-supporting armed gangs violently subjugate anyone who takes to the streets to express discontent. But protesting is something we should fundamentally be able to do in a free country.

To quote Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest defenders of civil rights, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We can all agree that, as rational beings raised in a democratic community, we should stand against any such aggression and injustice as if it were happening in our own streets. This case is no exception — as members of the international community, we cannot stay silent and merely watch these horrible crimes that have destroyed the streets and the families of Venezuela.

It is our duty as members of just societies and defenders of freedom to extend our help to those communities struggling with violations of human rights.

The international community must not stand behind the barrier that the government has imposed to blatantly try to hide the human rights violations currently happening in Venezuela.

Organizations like the United Nations were founded during an era of rebuilding after one of humanity’s most horrific wars under the premise that it would help defend human rights around the world. It is now time to use this international power to break the silence and prevent the bloodshed of peaceful protesters who dream only of a country where they can have a voice capable of changing their government.

I speak not only as a Venezuelan by birth and of heart, but as a Venezuelan watching the terrible events that have unfolded over the past month. It’s time to act.

ALBERTO ALFONZO is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service.