Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, January 11, an audience of around 20 people gathered at Zao MKE Church to watch a webinar featuring five anti-war activists who visited Venezuela in the last month, hosted by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN). 

The webinar watch party, convened by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), was part of MAC’s No War with Venezuela Month of Action, called in early January in response to the Trump administration’s escalating aggression against Venezuela, including an intense bombing campaign and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro.

Sara Onitsuka, co-chair of MAC, introduced the webinar and provided context on its relation to anti-war organizing in Milwaukee. 

“It is so important to build the anti-war movement in the U.S. and locally,” Onitsuka said. “The U.S. government repeats the same imperialist playbook, with just a few modifications, over and over across the world. Meanwhile in the U.S., including in Milwaukee, most are struggling just to meet our basic needs. We deserve better here, just as people all over the world deserve to no longer be under the boot of U.S. imperialism.” 

Chris Van Valkenberg, chair of SDS, followed up with the connection to student organizing, stating, “Historically we’ve seen the anti-war movement and the student movement work very closely together, from Vietnam to Palestine. And we’re going to have to work very closely again as we stand in solidarity with and say no war with Venezuela.”

After introductions, attendees settled in to watch the webinar. After opening comments from the emcee, Jae Franklin, an activist with the Chicago Anti-War Committee, talked about the first day of the conference that their delegation attended – the International Peoples’ Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace, hosted by the Simón Bolivar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples. In particular, they were struck by a quote from Blanca Eekhout, the president of the Simón Bolivar Institute, who said, “Fear cannot defeat the conviction of the Venezuelan people.”

Jessica Plichta, an organizer with Grand Rapids Opponents of War who recently gained significant media attention for being arrested by Grand Rapids police immediately after finishing a news interview, talked of the importance of international solidarity. Plichta quoted Delcy Rodríguez, current acting president, “No blockade can defeat solidarity. No blockade can defeat the love that other peoples of the world have for Venezuela, and no threat or military aggression can destroy this love for our people.”

Izzy McCabe from Seattle Against War, who presented on the delegation’s visit to the Ministry of Women, reiterated a message of solidarity: “The people of the United States and Venezuela have a common enemy, a common fight, and a common goal.“ 

AWAN webinar presenters talked further about the communes, food sovereignty and labor organizing in Venezuela. They shared their experiences talking not just with assembly participants, but also working-class Venezuelans on the streets of Caracas. They said that what they heard the most in Venezuela was that they all need to be united against Trump.

After the webinar, watch party attendees discussed what they had learned. One attendee noted that it was not only helpful to hear the takeaways from their delegation, but also how much fun they were having. Hearing of their experiences in Caracas helped to disrupt the mainstream view in the U.S. of Venezuela as a violent and dangerous place. 

Watch party attendees also discussed how to tie back to organizing in Milwaukee. There have been similar instances of political repression in Milwaukee, particularly among student organizers. They discussed the importance of fighting repression, not being afraid of it, and using it as a tool to bring people out to support the cause. 

The watch party attendees left the event re-energized and ready to fight back.

Since early January, MAC’s Month of Action has gained broad support in Milwaukee and beyond. As of Sunday, 17 organizations have endorsed MAC’s Month of Action.

MAC’s month of action will continue with a phone zap against the political repression of anti-war activists in Jacksonville as part of a National Day of Action with AWAN on January 14, a teach-in on Venezuela on January 17, supporting the annual MLK Day event on January 19, and concluding with a One Year Against Trump March and Rally on January 20. 

Details for future events can be found on MAC’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #MAC #AWAN #SDS