WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2020) A Venezuelan police chief who defected to the United States and the family of a US soldier killed in Iraq by a bomb supposedly provided by slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani are among the guests during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, the White House said.
"From brave military families to hardworking local leaders, this year's guests come from many walks of life," the White House said on Tuesday. "Each one represents the very best of America and people the world over."
Ivan Simonovis, former police chief of Caracas, Venezuela, is one of the guests who has invited to attend Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. The Venezuelan authorities imprisoned Simonovis in 2004 allegedly for protecting protesters who demonstrated against the government of former President Hugo Chavez.
The White House noted that Simonovis escaped from Venezuela in 2019 and was brought to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the US government welcomed him to the United States.
Also invited to Trump's speech are Kelli and Gage Hake from Stillwater, Oklahoma, survivors of US Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Hake who was killed while serving a second tour of duty in Iraq.
Kelli Hake learned that her husband was killed in Iraq after his fighting vehicle hit a roadside bomb supplied by Iranian general Soleimani, the White House said.
The United States assassinated Soleimani during a visit to Baghdad in early January in an attack authorized by Trump.
