I’ve never been prouder to be an American — and to support my president — than I am right now, under the leadership of President Donald Trump. It was an honor to join the president at Friday’s roundtable in support of democracy and the people of Venezuela.

Having watched a socialist regime take power, I understand firsthand the importance of having a strong leader willing to stand up for America, against radical leftists and those looking to tear down our free and open society.

I first came to the United States in 1989, choosing to leave Venezuela as mass riots, known as “Caracazo” engulfed the nation. I saw it coming — I saw how the socialist uprising and repression was going to disrupt our two-party system. It’s what led to the rise of Hugo Chavez, who became president in 1998.

I can’t help but be reminded of those turbulent times when I see the violent mobs and unrest taking hold in America today. The escalation in Venezuela was widely viewed as a response to skyrocketing gasoline prices. In America, the unrest reached a boiling point following the death of George Floyd.

I support President Trump, in part, because he will never allow America to become a socialist country. He made this commitment during his State of the Union address, and when President Trump makes a promise, he delivers.

That’s why when President Trump said “We’re standing with the righteous and rightful leaders of Venezuela,” Friday, we know he’s going to keep the pressure on Maduro and his brutal regime. The president also reiterated his commitment to ending “Obama-Biden sellout to the Castro regime.”

Joe Biden and his increasing coziness with socialism and the radical left should concern every American. I know it’s something President Trump doesn’t take lightly. This election is about what sort of future we want for our children and our grandchildren.

Do we want to be a nation that values the lessons of our past, protects life, and proactively defends Democracy at home and abroad? Or do we want to live in a country that suppresses free speech, erases our past and engages in tactics that harken back to the unrest in Venezuela which led to the rise of the current socialist state.

This is not to be taken lightly.

Contrast President Trump’s commitment to supporting freedom and democracy, with the weak, failed leadership of former President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden. While President Trump has taken real action against the socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro in the form of economic sanctions and more, the Obama-Biden administration did nothing. In fact, the Obama-Biden administration supported communist regimes like the Castro brothers in Cuba.

In fact, Biden wants to return to Obama’s failed Cuba policy that empowered Cuba’s communist government and praised the Castro regime. The Cuban government spreads violence throughout the region, working to spread its repressive and failed ideology throughout the Western Hemisphere, including in Venezuela, where it is propping up Maduro.

Despite knowing that the Cuban government’s military advisers have been in close contact with Venezuelan military officials for years, Obama and Biden chose to work with them anyway. Castro was instrumental in helping the oppressive Venezuelan government hold onto power under Hugo Chavez and now with Maduro.

Returning to Biden and Obama’s coziness with the Castro regime will only embolden oppressive governments throughout the globe.

In three and a half years, President Trump has done much more to defend freedom and democracy at home and abroad than eight years of President Obama and Vice President Biden.

I know firsthand, as do hundreds of thousands of my brothers and sisters who escaped the horrors of communism and socialism, the dangerous path our nation could be heading down should Joe Biden and today’s radical left win in November.

There is one choice in November for my fellow Americans who value freedom, Democracy, and the values we hold dear as Americans — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That choice is President Trump.

Ernesto Ackerman is President and CEO of Miami-based Hillusa Corporation, a medical equipment company. Ackerman is also Director of the non-profit clinic, “Clinica Venamher,” which provides medical services for Venezuelan refugees and President and Founder of Independent Venezuelan American Citizens.