Indianapolis protesters rally against U.S. military attack on Venezuela, demand President Maduro’s release
Indianapolis, IN – About 60 people gathered Saturday afternoon, January 3, at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis to protest the U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Demonstrators chanted, “No war on Venezuela” and “Maduro, aguanta, el pueblo se levanta,” Spanish for “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up.” Protesters held signs reading “No war for oil” and “Hands off Venezuela,” while passersby honked their horns and raised fists from their cars in support.
Organizers said the emergency protest was called in response to rapidly unfolding events in Venezuela earlier that morning. The United States bombed Venezuela and captured President Maduro during a large-scale military operation launched in the early hours of Saturday.
Reports from Caracas indicated that explosions began around 2 a.m. local time, with multiple military installations and numerous civilian buildings being bombed. The number of casualties remains unknown.
In an official statement, the Venezuelan government condemned the attack as a violation of the United Nations Charter and a threat to regional peace, announcing the activation of national defense plans and the deployment of armed forces. Venezuelan leaders also called for mass popular mobilizations of working people and trade unions. Authorities said they would bring formal complaints before international bodies, including the United Nations, over what they described as a criminal act of war committed by the Trump administration.
Speakers at the Indianapolis rally echoed those condemnations, denouncing the attack as an act of imperial aggression and warning that a U.S. war on Venezuela would be fought for corporate and oil interests at the expense of civilian lives. Several speakers emphasized solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the Bolivarian Revolution and called for an immediate end to the U.S. war on Venezuela, as well as the safe return of President Maduro.
Trump’s war on Venezuela, though carried out under the bogus pretense of drug trafficking, is being waged at the behest of the monopoly capitalist class that rules the United States. Trump could barely contain himself at the press conference announcing the military operation, pledging to occupy Venezuela and turn its oil over to Western energy corporations. By targeting Maduro, U.S. imperialism is attempting to decapitate the Bolivarian Revolution. In 2002, the United States backed a coup attempt against then-President Hugo Chávez, who was restored to power by the Venezuelan people within 47 hours.
The Bolivarian Revolution is an ongoing national democratic revolution that has been unfolding in Venezuela for over 25 years. Contrary to the claims of the Trump administration, Maduro and the Venezuelan government retain broad support among the working class, peasant farmers, the urban poor, and the workers and peasants in uniform who comprise the military. Despite U.S. sanctions that have placed severe strain on the Venezuelan economy, the country has stood firm in the face of imperialist aggression. As masses of working people in Venezuela mobilize to defend their independence, solidarity and anti-war demonstrations like the one in Indianapolis make clear that they are not alone.