On Saturday, about 400 protesters from across the Bay Area gathered in downtown San Francisco to protest President Donald Trump’s bombing of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and his capture of Venezuela’s president Nicholás Maduro.
“Stop bombing Venezuela!” they chanted while marching from Powell and Market streets to the statue of Simón Bolívar in Civic Center Plaza. “No more coups! No more wars! Latin America isn’t yours!”
In the past few months, the Trump administration has ramped up pressure on Venezuela, gathering naval forces off the coast and bombing boats that it alleged, without evidence, had drug smugglers onboard. At least 115 people were killed in the strikes.
Last night’s strike appeared to target military infrastructure. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during the strike and brought to New York, where they now face charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and weapons charges.
The New York Times, quoting an anonymous Venezuelan official, reported that at least 40 people were killed in the military action, including an 80-year-old woman.
Protesters lambasted the bombing. “Is it not too much to just fund people’s needs instead of endless wars abroad?” one organizer asked, in between chants of “We got billions for war, but can’t feed the poor” and “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation.”
“We saw them destroy the very fundamental rights that all Latin American countries and all countries of the world share,” Omar Khoury, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said about the American attacks, listing out the right to independence and sovereignty.
The secretary-general of the United Nations called the strikes “deeply worrying,” and international-law experts have said they are illegal.
During a press conference, Trump said that the United States is “going to run” Venezuela for the time being, claiming that he has installed Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as a puppet.
“She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said.
Rodríguez, however, was on Venezuelan television at the same time demanding that the United States free Maduro. “What is being done to Venezuela is a barbarity,” she reportedly said.
The rally in San Francisco was one of dozens that saw thousands take to the streets in U.S. cities and others across the globe. Protesters in San Francisco condemned the administration’s action as “neo-colonialism,” pointing to Trump’s remarks at a press conference today about Venezuelan oil.
The president said, “we’ll be selling large amounts of oil to other countries,” and that unnamed oil companies would “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure. “We’re in the oil business.”
Speakers at the protest defended Maduro’s record in Venezuela, who has ruled Venezuela since Hugo Chavez’s death in 2013.
He has been accused of jailing and persecuting political opponents and protesters and falsifying election results. Under his rule — and American sanctions — the country has faced an economic collapse, with the majority of the country’s residents now living in poverty.
“I had the privilege of having met Nicolás Maduro when he was a union activist many years ago. And he’s like us. He’s a fighter, only he has a much greater role of staying up for his people, standing up for Latin America, standing up for us,” Gloria La Riva said.
“Let’s not try and claim, ‘well, there’s problems with that system, there’s problems with that leader,’” said Frank Lara, the vice-president of the public-school-teachers union United Educators of San Francisco. “Let’s not claim that anyone in this country can justify a coup, a kidnapping, a bombing in any other country.”
Not everyone in the crowd agreed with that sentiment.
“Venezuela has been in serious trouble for a long time,” a 20-year-old Venezuelan woman shouted from the crowd after a speaker said, “We’ve got to build a movement that’s going to work, because if we don’t, Venezuela is in some serious trouble.”
“It’s not the U.S. causing all the issues now,” she said in an interview after the rally. “Of course they want the oil. This is not about altruism and helping us. But at least they are taking out of the country the head of the source of a pain that we have.”
She said her family in Venezuela’s reaction to the bombings was not entirely negative.
“Yeah, of course we are scared about the explosions, but they are also happy. They are like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna be freed in some way,’” she said.
She went to the rally today after hearing about it, hoping to see other Venezuelan people, but relatively few were there and none spoke at the rally.
“I was like, I want to see my people and hug them, and I want to tell them everything is going to be okay,” she said. “Then I encounter these people that are a little fed with lies also.”
Still, the rally ended with a call to action, and the crowd chanting along energetically. “Money for war, can’t feed the poor? We’re fired up, can’t take it no more!”
“Hands off Venezuela,” an organizer promised. “We’ll see you in the streets again.”
“Viva Maduro” is a bit much, even for the SF protest crowd.
I’m sure this protest will have exactly the same impact as the daily San Francisco protests about Gaza/ICE/Trump/A Great City’s People Forced to Drink Swill.
(Actually that last one worked.)
What about if all those protesters from every corner of America show up in Washington on for example January 6th for a peaceful visiting tour? would that change your mind?
They’re welcomed to turn the public against their own cause at the low, low price of spending 3-4 years in federal prison too.
your friends who did some tourism last time got Scott free no? or pardoned? or were3 called great patriots? you forgot?
And what are you doing to prevent further dissent on fascism?
400 protesters? There were more people in my local Trader Joe’s yesterday.
Thank you Mission Local for including the point of view from an actual Venezuelan. Their opinion should be front and center in this discussion. The protesters are mostly white, wealthy and just hate trump so
“Speakers at the protest defended Maduro’s record in Venezuela”.
That tells me all I need to know about this protest.
I mean we’re in San Francisco. A truly pathetic and meaningless city. Do you people marching actually think your opinion or voice matters on a large scale? Absolute waste of foot steps, congratulations on accomplishing absolutely nothing but a half decent workout on flat ground of Market St. just kidding actually, I’m sure you guys just stopped Trumps next idea with all your cool signs and clever chants!
Youre either a bootlicker or a bot. But if not would love to know what youre doing to stop fascism from truly taking over? Will you just bend over when they start coming for everyone no matter skin tone or immigration status? Or are you going to use your rage to push back to those who will oppress ALL of us?
To “littlesea77”,
Please look at the history of Venezuela and what Maduro did to that country. While you are at it, speak to those that escaped Maduro and lost everything they worked so hard for. Finally, speak to those that have suffered under Maduro and were lucky enough to escape by fleeing on foot with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
America historically has been a beacon for freedom to those suffering under dictators like Maduro who stole the power through election rigging and false promise of better prosperity. The hard truth is that the only people that prosper, if you can call it that, are the dictator and those closest to them. But those that are closest to the dictator are playing with fire. One wrong word and you, and likely your family, are killed.
I have no use for disingenuous false protesters like those described in this article. Are they paid? Maybe some are. Are they non-informed? More likely ill-informed. Do they understand the history of Venezuela? I’d venture to say that most of them do not.
One other thing, we have had a “war on drugs” since I was a kid. Sadly, the only war was covert and frankly a joke because there was no fear of repercussions. Now there are and for at least the next three years there will be. I am glad this is happening and proud to support our president’s actions on this matter.
Lmao wether you think maduro is good or bad, this issue is so much bigger than that. How would you react if your elected president was highjacked by another country in the middle of the night by bombing the crap out of them and then stating that theyre taking your natural resources? Not much fun huh? And this is being done with your tax money. Screw healthcare right? They got money for this but not for healthcare. Also, the drugs never stop because guess what? Most drugs come through port of entries lol or did you forget that the CIA was working with pablo escobar to get cocaine in the 80’s. The u.s liberators of the world? More like the #1 killers of the world, this is just another iraq/Afghanistan in the making. Another war for oil.
New for you: it has nothing to do with narcotrafficking but all to do about oil.Why did the president of Honduras, convicted in the US, sentenced for 45 years in jail was released a month ago? you said :”America historically has been a beacon for freedom to those suffering under dictators”..news for you: most dictators, like Pinochet in Chili were put in place by the US..Beacon of freedom? are you on meds or something?
You think there is freedom, in any of the existing toxic Marxist dictatorships ? The Peoples Liberation Army in China, only keeps Xi Jinping ‘free’. In North Korea, they are killed for watching soap operas. YOU MUST BE ON MEDS, or off them.
see now you are out of shape, comparing apples and oranges..i am not a fan of Maduro but there were laws before.Get it? Accusing illegal immigrants of breaking the laws on one hand but this administration is breaking them how many times a day again?
I hope the good guys win!!!
I love you and so does N-dog. Support from tokyo
I feel sorry for my friends in Tokyo.I hope they don’t run into you..Fortunately they are not the type to go to the red light district.
Unlike 40 years ago, when Democrats opposed US intervention in Central America, today’s Democrats broadly support regime change in Venezuela.
Democrats think that the Republicans are doing it wrong and that Trump should have gone through “proper channels.”
January 6th anniversary..the day of the violent deplorables. A bunch of them, pardoned and glorified by the orange maniac are actually back in jails for breaking some other laws..Maga people, your deranged orange cult leader is wreaking havoc around the world and just said today that American taxpayers money would pay to help big oil companies “rebuilt” the Venezuelan oil infrastructures.Did you voted for that? you got played all the way to the bank! Cannot wait to see how many down votes I am going to get for this one !
orange nazi king voters: are you proud and happy now? Maga dudes, you voted for this? can you look at yourself in the mirror? major news organization journalists, arer you proud of how you are covering these criminals? if this turn into a new Vietnam, will you be ok with that? haven’t you learn your lessons yet?
Make america great again!!
We are happy and proud of our president!
He just saved venezuela from a dictator!
When biden was sending billions of dollars to other countries you people stay quiet!
You people are paid protestor!
I see no venezuelan protesting only white far liberals! Clowns for sure
Is this a parody of what a wasteful, stupid and wicked dictator would say and do? Did you write this to make a point of these stupidity of the current administration?
Clown speaking?
The FIFA president, Infantino, the dude who would do anything to clean the orange nazi shoes, is now debating if it was a good idea to give orange man a meaningless chocolate “peace prize” to get his favors..
How do you call a place where a group of individuals bypass an elected Congress and a Senate? a dictature..
Word on the street is that France wants their statue of Liberty back, even in pieces. They got talented artisans to put it back together. The locals can just replace it with a giant swastika, big and beautiful, never been done before, only one man could achieve that in the history of the United States, a giant swastika at the entrance of the harbor in NY, wouldn’t that be beautiful? made with American steel of course…or gold….or plastic from China.
Campers,
So far, Trump can’t match George Washington for cruelty and bigotry and greed.
As a teenager he learned surveying and laid plans to seize the very best Native American lands by killing off the Indians as an officer in the British Colonial army.
Later he killed French and British soldiers to insure that he could complete his land grab.
When the Revolutionary War ended he was the biggest land owner in the new United States of America.
This was not a fortunate by-product of the conflict but was, in fact, its original goal.
Oh, they give you the home of the free and the land of the brave bs but this is a guy who walked through his slave quarters and not only chose which women he wanted to rape with impunity but once even had the men line up and chose the best looking set of teeth on one of them and had them extracted and made into dentures for himself.
So, the Donald while off to a good start, still has to kill a lot more people and steal a lot more land to match the Father of our country.
Our founders and their successors set a high bar.
Yesterday was a glitch for the Niners.
On to the Super Bowl here at home in Santa Clara.
h.