Jacksonville, FL rally in solidarity with Venezuela
Jacksonville, FL – On Friday, December 5, almost 40 people gathered in downtown Jacksonville in front of Governor Rick Scott’s office to rally in solidarity with Venezuela. Scott has advocated for sanctions against the Venezuelan people and has accused President Nicolas Maduro of being a dictator and says the traitor Marina Corina Machado is a “true champion for freedom and democracy in Venezuela.”
Organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the rally featured speeches from the Anti-War Action Network, UNF Students for a Democratic Society, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, the Jacksonville Immigrants’ Rights Alliance and the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.
Venezuelan flags draping the backs of protesters and signs saying “No war on Venezuela” faced the downtown traffic as the rally was met with honks of support from passing cars. Participants also chanted “Hands off Venezuela!” and “No boots on the ground! No bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!” for all to hear.
Ashley Mackenzie from the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network noted that the Palestinian people know all too well what it's like to not be able to fish off their own coasts, because just like the Venezuelan fishermen risk being bombed by the U.S. military, fisherman in Gaza can’t fish off their own coasts without being shot at by the Israeli occupation forces. Maduro’s government has expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people time and time again while his opponent, Machado, has shown her true colors by explicitly supporting their genocide by the Zionist entity.
Despite running on a campaign as a “peacemaker” in the 2024 election, President Trump has been anything but since taking office this year. In regard to Palestine, he has escalated the genocide. Now he is wondering why he hasn't won the Nobel Peace Prize and openly acts as the warmonger he is by attempting regime change in Venezuela.
The people of Jacksonville gathered for over an hour on Bay Street to say “No more,” with not only passersby showing support from their cars but with people on foot joining to listen to the speeches as well.
A member of FRSO stated, “Time and time again, U.S. imperialism cannot withstand resistance from a people steadfast in walking their own path and determining their own destiny. I saw that the people’s militias are being armed and preparing for invasion because they understand, like I understand, that racists like Trump and US imperialism only understand one thing, and that's getting popped in the mouth and kicked in the teeth!”
This will only be the first of many actions in north Florida as Trump’s war escalates, because the people of Jacksonville stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and support the Bolivarian Revolution!