Protests broke out in cities including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York after it was announced that the United States captured Venezuela’s socialist dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
video images aware and “Don’t bleed for oil.”
According to ABC7NY, “a group of people demonstrated in Times Square” for Maduro’s capture. Protesters claimed that Maduro’s capture was not about “drug trafficking or democracy,” but about “stealing oil and dominating Latin America.”
The outlet also noted that while some Venezuelans celebrated Maduro’s capture, others expressed that they were worried about their relatives who were still in Venezuela.
One person, Marilla Moreira, who “fled Venezuela almost 30 years ago during the Chávez era” expressed that she was “very happy,” while Kenia Fernández, who moved to the city “a year and a half ago” revealed that her mother was “scared.”
“She told me not to send videos or anything to Venezuela because she is afraid that her phone or social networks will be intercepted,” Fernández told the outlet.
In Philadelphia, “more than 100 people” were reported to have “marched from Philadelphia City Hall to the U.S. Armed Forces recruiting center on Spring Garden Street,” calling on Congress “to take back its power,” according to WHYY.org.
Protesters in the city held signs with the words “No to the war against Venezuela” and “End of American imperialism,” according to the outlet.
One person, David Gibson, one of the protest organizers, said that “Congress is supposed to represent the people,” adding that citizens are “the ones who are supposed to decide whether or not to go to war.”
Another organizer, who was described as “Venezuelan-American and resident of Philadelphia,” stated that protesters gathered because “they agree that Venezuela should have sovereignty.”
“We are all here because we agree that Venezuela must have sovereignty,” the man said. “We are here because we believe that Venezuela should be free from the aggression and imperial violence of the United States.”
The protests come after President Donald Trump announced Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were “captured and flown out of the country.”
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale attack against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who, along with his wife, has been captured and flown out of the country,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “This operation was carried out in conjunction with United States law enforcement. Details will be given below. There will be a press conference today at 11 am, at Mar-a-Lago.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and his wife had “been charged in the Southern District of New York.”
“Nicolás Maduro has been charged with conspiracy to narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States,” Bondi said.
