News and Views from the People's Struggle
By Tom Burke and Sara Flounders
New York, NY – The packed Assembly Hall at the prestigious Riverside Church in Manhattan, was draped in Venezuelan colors and flags of resistance on Thursday, September 25.
The exciting solidarity event with Venezuela resounded with drumming and chants throughout the evening. A well-organized security ensured that the meeting went forth without disruption or interference.
On the evening of Tuesday, September 23, a webinar was held by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) to educate about the motive behind the recent attacks that Donald Trump has unleashed against Venezuela.
New York City – This Thursday, September 25, lucky people are gathering in Manhattan for a historic evening to recognize the global struggle for peace and liberation.
Two high-profile speakers from Venezuela will present their political views: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Blanca Eekhart, president of the Simon Bolivar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples. Both will be attending a meeting at the United Nations that week, as well as the Riverside event.
Orlando, FL – On Friday, September 13, 20 activists held an emergency rally outside the Federal Courthouse in downtown Orlando to denounce the recent U.S. military attacks, and any future aggression, against Venezuela.
The rally was organized by FRSO Orlando and co-sponsored by Orlando DSA, University of Central Florida Students for a Democratic Society, Orlando for Peace, and several other organizations.
Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Solidarity Committee on the Americas (SCOTA) , a committee of Women Against Military Madness along with their supporters, gathered September 10, on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge, which connects Minneapolis and Saint Paul, protesting Trump’s attacks against Venezuela and the Caribbean.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns President Trump’s outrageous attacks upon Venezuela and President Maduro. Trump claims he had the U.S. Navy attack a boat and that eleven Venezuelans were killed. Assuming it so, it is another in a long list of violent attacks by the U.S. against the independent country of Venezuela and its leadership.
The loss of innocent Venezuelan lives with no investigation, evidence, or trial is shameful. It is an act of war. The U.S. needs to seek peace and friendship, not war and intervention.
This time Trump mobilized multiple U.S. Navy missile ships, 4000 marines and sailors, and a nuclear-powered submarine. In response, masses of Venezuelans flocked to join the people’s militias in their communities and at their jobs. The militias are a reserve force of citizen soldiers, the eyes and ears of the revolution, trained under the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela (FANB) to defend their homeland.
While Trump’s attacks are dangerous, the past U.S. provocations and repeated coup attempts against both President Chavez and President Maduro have failed again and again. Instead of hurting the Bolivarian Revolution, the U.S. interventions strengthen it.
The Bolivarian Revolution emerged out of the Venezuelan armed forces, under the leadership of high-ranking military officers sickened by corruption and thievery of the nation’s resources. It spread among working people, farmers and the poor. It is a democratic revolution with broad participation. It is based on the idea that Venezuela belongs to the masses of Venezuela, instead of rich elites who serve U.S. oil companies and Wall Street capitalists.
Ever since Comandante Hugo Chavez won the presidency in 1999, the U.S. has harassed, sanctioned and violently attacked Venezuela. Trump is now intensifying these attacks against the former bus driver and union leader President Nicolas Maduro. The whole world sees the lies and slander of Trump and his media kooks. None of it is worth repeating.
President Maduro continues to build and develop an independent and sovereign Venezuela benefiting the people instead of Wall Street capitalists and U.S. oil corporations. The leadership is provided by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which recently won elections in all but one state. The Bolivarian Revolution has broad support, and people’s participation is reaching an all-time peak due to U.S. threats.
As Venezuela builds a new society, a new economy for the people, with steady economic growth for the past couple of years, we can see what it is that Wall Street fears. As the U.S. empire continues to decline at a rapid pace, Trump fears the example of Venezuela. He can try to bully Maduro and Venezuela’s leadership, but it isn’t working. So now the U.S. is escalating toward missile attacks and threatening an invasion.
The FRSO stands in solidarity with President Maduro, the PSUV and the Bolivarian revolution! No to U.S. attacks and war! Bring the U.S. warships and Marines home now!
#Venezuela #Imperialism #AntiWarMovement #International #Trump #InternationalSolidarity
La Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad denuncia el más reciente ataque del presidente de EE. UU., Donald Trump, contra el presidente de Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro. Es otro intento escandaloso de EE. UU. por criminalizar a Venezuela y a sus líderes. La fiscal general de EE. UU., Pam Bondi, declaró que EE. UU. ofrecía 50 millones de dólares por información que llevara al arresto del presidente venezolano. ¡Nosotros decimos que el presidente Maduro vale mucho, mucho más!
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization denounces U.S. President Donald Trump’s most recent attack on Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro. It is yet another outrageous U.S. attempt to criminalize Venezuela and its leaders. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi declared the U.S. was offering $50 million for information leading to the arrest of the Venezuelan president. We say President Maduro is worth much, much more!
Mientras los venezolanos celebran la inauguración del Presidente Maduro el 10 de enero, la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad saluda la Revolución Bolivariana, el Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), y sobre todo al Presidente Maduro por otra gran victoria. Superando las sanciones estadounidenses, la interferencia electoral y las mentiras, el pueblo de Venezuela ha triunfado una vez más.
As Venezuelans celebrate the inauguration of President Maduro on January 10, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization salutes the Bolivarian Revolution, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), and especially President Maduro on another great victory! Overcoming U.S. sanctions, election interference and lies, the people of Venezuela have triumphed once again.
On Monday September 2, the U.S. government seized the official presidential plane of Venezuela, often used by President Nicolas Maduro. The Biden administration had Dominican authorities do their dirty work, stealing the plane while it was on the island for maintenance. It was then flown to Miami, where stolen goods and illegal shipments often enter the United States.
This theft is a pathetic attempt to wrestle some control over the independent nation that recently re-elected the former union bus driver as its president. It is a direct violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, using U.S. economic sanctions as cover.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization congratulates President Nicolás Maduro and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) for the decisive victory in Venezuela’s election. The decision of the Venezuelan people to carry forward the Bolivarian revolution is a win for working and oppressed people everywhere. By defeating the pro-imperialist opposition, Venezuela will remain free and independent – a beacon of hope for oppressed people everywhere.
Caracas, Venezuela – “A PSUV victory is the most important present for Commander Hugo Chavez. Today, July 28, is the anniversary of his birthday, the same day as the popular triumph of the people,” says international observer Diakaridia Diakita, the president of the youth of the Yelema party in the Republic of Mali. PSUV stands for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
Caracas, Venezuela – “Hasta la victoria! El pueblo unido jamás se ha vencido!” tens of thousands chanted, filling the streets, in the rally for President Nicolás Maduro on July 26.
Chicago, IL – On January 24, over 60 people crowded the Latino Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to join a discussion with Juan González of the Great Cities Institute and David Ramirez of the Cuban Embassy around the current immigrant crisis and its root causes. The discussion was co-hosted by two campus groups: New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UIC and Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA) at UIC.
Miami, FL – Alex Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat, is now free after long negotiations between Venezuela’s government and the U.S. State Department. Saab flew back to Venezuela on Wednesday, December 20 into the waiting arms of his wife, Camilla Fabri Saab. He will be able to hug his children after more than three years of detention and imprisonment by the U.S. government.
New York City, NY – On Saturday, September 23, more than 500 anti-war organizers and activists from across the United States converged for “Voices of Dignity: The People vs. Blockades,” an evening program in support of Cuba and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The event was hosted by the Let Cuba Live Coalition and took place at the Society for Ethical Culture of New York .
Minneapolis, MN – On May 7, a couple dozen activists gathered at the busy intersection of Minneapolis’ Chicago and Lake Streets for a rally as part of the international “Week for Alex Saab” called by the Committee to Free Alex Saab. Speakers from different movements gave messages of solidarity with Venezuela’s kidnapped diplomat and connected Alex Saab’s struggle to a broader history of U.S. imperialism and repression. Many cars honked in support of the “Hands off Venezuela” signs and passersby stayed to listen to the speeches.
Milwaukee, WI – More than 20 people filled a room at the Urban Ecology Center in the Silver City neighborhood on April 29 to hear a report from Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Omar Flores on his recent trip to Venezuela. Flores was one part of a FRSO delegation that was invited to participate in a special conference that coincided with the tenth anniversary of the death of Comandante Hugo Chavez, the former Venezuelan president and one of the primary figures behind the ongoing Bolivarian Revolution.
Grand Rapids, MI – The Committee to Free Alex Saab is calling all anti-war and international solidarity activists, community and immigrant rights organizers, labor unionists and students to join in an international week of action to Free Alex Saab.