Protesters demand safe return of Maduro to Venezuela and no war
By Carl Hintz
On Saturday January 3rd, protesters assembled in Raleigh, NC at Moore Square in opposition to the illegal and unconstitutional attacks on Venezuela that were ordered by the Trump administration. The protest marks a continuation of the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s consistent protests at Moore Square in Raleigh in solidarity with Palestine and against the genocide in Gaza.
The Events Leading Up to The Attack
Emily with Code Pink described the murderous and plunderous actions of the Trump administration that led up to the January 3rd pre-dawn US Armed Forces attack which abducted President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores and bombed residential areas in Venezuela.
In the past months, Trump’s strikes on small boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific have killed at least 115 people. “The US has seized two tankers containing over 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan Oil. Trump claims it’s ours, but it’s theirs,” Emily said.
A Call For Unity
Paola with the Party for Socialism and Liberation spoke with emotion, understandably shaken by the recent attacks on her family’s country.
“Unity is what’s going to keep us going. We don’t want more people dead. When have bombs, when have US invasions ever in history ever been freedom, when has it been peace?” Paola said.
While many Americans have seen videos of right-wing Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s abduction, the scene in Venezuela including the capital was the opposite with Venezuelans holding Venezuela’s flag, holding posters of Maduro, and demanding his safe return.
If Trump or Rubio thought that kidnapping the President of Venezuela would cause the government’s collapse, they were wrong. In accordance with Venezuela’s constitution, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is now serving as Venezuela’s acting president. Popular mobilization after the attack has supported this reality.
Paola had a message for Venezuelans in the US:
“Trump is trying to take it away from us, he’s not trying to give it to us, he’s done it in other places. And this is when we come together, not only just Venezuelan’s but everybody and we say no to war. We show up for each other, and we say that the way that Trump is doing things, he’s doing the same authoritarian things that people in Venezuela were fighting for? How is he treating Venezuelans here in the United States? Why did I have to spend New Year’s with family stuck because ICE was down the street? Why? Because of Trump.”
Paola continues: “What do we have to do? Do we really want [sic] the person that is making us feel like that here [in the US]? Is that what we want? How will that translate to a country?”
Why did the Trump administration attack Venezuela?
Tristan with Triangle Democratic Socialists of America described three reasons for the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela.
“The first [reason] is oil … the largest proven oil reserves in the world are in Venezuela. The second most important reason is this so-called Trump corollary to the Monroe doctrine. The US empire realizes its failing and its fading, and it’s decided to retreat and retrench. It doesn’t want to do things so much in the indo-pacific or in the middle east. They want to focus on the Americas, because they view the Americas as being their back-yard. The third reason … is because the United States can not abide a positive example of a different path of development.”
What does Venezuelan and Palestinian solidarity have in common?
Omar with Palestinian Youth Movement described the commonalities between Venezuela and Palestine:
“Venezuela sits on the largest oil reserves on earth. Palestine sits on land that has always been strategically valuable, politically symbolic, and inconvenient to domination. And in both cases, the people standing in the way are treated as obstacles, not as human beings. First come the sanctions, sanctions that don’t punish governments but punish civilians. Sanctions that quietly strangle economies while politicians pretend they are a humane alternative to war.
In Venezuela, sanctions cut off the ability to sell most of the country’s oil. Not because the oil disappeared but because the global system was weaponized to block it.
In Palestine, an entire population is blockaded, surveiled, and deprived under the language of defense. Differing methods, same result. Economic suffocations, humanitarian collapse, and then blaming the victims for the conditions imposed on them.”
March in Downtown Raleigh
After the speeches, the protesters marched in a well organized manner in downtown Raleigh. Trained protest marshals in reflective vests helped to keep protesters safe from traffic or other threats and a well equipped street medic was in attendance, just in case. Protesters held signs that read “US Out of the Caribbean”, “ICE Out of NC”, “Stop Bombing Venezuela”, “No War on Venezuela”, “No More Oil War”, and “Hands Off Venezuela.”
News organizations CBS17 and the News and Observer covered the protest; a news helicopter flew overhead. The News and Observer estimated that 100 people were in attendance. This is a notably high attendance considering the action was organized the same day of the attack and as the weather matched the somber mood, chilly with an intermittent light rain.
As the protesters returned to Moore Square, they chanted “Money for Jobs and Education. Not for War and Incarceration” to the sound of a drum’s percussion. Indeed, the cost of two F-35B fighter jets is roughly equal to Durham Public Schools’ entire yearly budget.
Some labor union members were in attendance at the protest including members of National Domestic Workers Alliance, UE150, and IBEW.
Join an Organization
Victor with the Party for Socialism and Liberation served as the MC during the speeches. At the end of the protest, called participants to join an organization. He named the organizations that contributed to the protests’ success – PSL, Code Pink, Triangle DSA, and Palestinian Youth Movement.
US Senate Passes S.J.Res. 98
On January 8th the US Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 98 “To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.” Importantly, the resolution requires president Trump to “terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.” Both Senator Budd and Senator Tillis from NC voted against the resolution, but the resolution passed with 52 votes.
Carl Hintz is a contributing editor for the Triangle Free Press and they are a co-chair of Triangle DSA’s Solar Bond Campaign Committee.