Brooklyn, NY — On February 3, dozens of people gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to mark the one-month anniversary since the United States attacked Venezuela and kidnapped President Maduro and First Lady Flores.

The rally was called by the Venezuela Solidarity Network, and several important anti-war organization endorsed and attended, such as Workers World Party, Black Alliance for Peace, Palaver Collective and Brooklyn Against War.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, a current political prisoner, called into the protest via phone to give a speech in solidarity for Maduro and Flores, stating, “An empire attacks a poor, weaker state, and demands the lion’s share of its richest raw material – oil. Why is it not a stick up?”

Members of several organizations gave powerful speeches, urging the crowd to fight for Venezuela, President Maduro and First Lady Flores.

The rally ended with a recorded message by Nicolás Maduro Guerra, President Maduro’s son, who urged the people of the United States to keep fighting and that Venezuelans are fighting with them.

#BrooklynNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #Maduro #BAW #VSN #WWP #BAP

Chicago, IL – On November 19, over 100 protesters gathered at Federal Plaza for a Venezuela solidarity rally, chanting “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!” and “No war on Venezuela!” 

“The U.S. has tightened its ongoing sanctions on Venezuela and doubled its bounty on President Maduro to $50 million because U.S. billionaires have set their eyes on Venezuelan oil. Invading Venezuela is a violation of international law, so the Trump administration is fabricating a completely false pretense to justify its war: narco-terrorism and immigration,” said Caeli Kean, co-chair of Anti-War Committee (AWC) Chicago. 

President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are attacking boats in missile strikes off the Caribbean coast. Trump also approved CIA operations within the country in an effort to overthrow Venezuela’s current government under the leadership of Nicolás Maduro. 

The U.S. military has staged 15,000 troops and large military aircraft carriers off the coast of Venezuela. The escalation has left other Caribbean nations in the crosshairs. Trinidad and Tobago, within eyesight of Venezuela, has U.S. warships docking in its capital. Trinidadian and Colombian fishermen were among the 83 victims killed from the illegal U.S. military strikes.

“To be clear – war is being waged from Chicago to Caracas. All over the Americas region, the consolidation and strengthening of military forces to be deployed against colonized people is taking place,” stated a member of BAP. “This is why, in the Black Alliance for Peace, we are calling for a population movement to build a Zone of Peace in our Americas.” 

“Trump and his administration are using similar propaganda to manufacture consent that the U.S. used in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other places. And we all know the damage that these lies have caused. He’s using the same rhetoric and fear mongering about drugs and crime to justify illegal invasions of our cities and the kidnapping of our people by ICE agents. We call bullshit!” said Husam Marajda of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN).

“Look at this country. Every year, they swear they’re broke. But when it’s time for war, ICE raids, some new billion-dollar weapon, suddenly money appears like magic,” Jai from Good Kids Madd City stated. “We have to unite against oppression globally.”

“We cannot see U.S. imperialism abroad and defending immigrant rights here at home as separate issues. Our struggles are interconnected. U.S. imperialism forces people to leave their homes; thus standing with immigrant rights and standing against U.S. imperialism is something that we should all do,” stated Gianna of the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR).

The action was organized by Anti-War Committee Chicago and Black Alliance for Peace. It was part of a week of action calling for the international anti-imperialist movement to defend the sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under attack by the Trump administration.

After the rally, the crowd marched to the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) office. ISBI invests public funds into companies like Defense Technologies, Motorola Solutions, Palantir and others which supply ICE and police agencies with tear gas canisters and technology deployed against residents. These were used during everything from neighborhood ICE raids to attacks on protesters during the George Floyd Uprising. 

These companies also contract with the Israeli occupational forces aiding the recent genocide on Gaza. In addition, ISBI Vice Chair and Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs has invested $100 million of public funds into Israeli bonds, directly supporting the Zionists’ occupation of Palestine. 

AWC, USPCN, Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) Chicago, and the Illinois Divest From Genocide Network, representing more than 50 organizations, have mobilized to ISBI’s quarterly board meetings since December 2024 to demand divestment The next board meeting is on December 19th. 

Follow AWC, BAP and AWAN on social media at @antiwarchicago, @BAP-Chicago and @antiwaractionnetwork, and sign as an individual and/or as an organization to divest Illinois from genocide, apartheid, and ICE. 

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #AWCChicago #USPCN #BAP #AWAN #USPCN

New York, NY – Several hundred people gathered in midtown Manhattan at The People’s Forum to launch Nodutdol’s U.S. Out of Korea campaign. Hundreds more gathered at events in Oakland and Los Angeles for similar launch events.

The event began with Nodutdol organizers presenting the background of the organization. Nodutdol (노듯돌, meaning stepping-stone) has roots in the 1990s when members of the Korean movement would travel to Korea to learn from the people in the South and North of the peninsula about their organizing against U.S. domination. They became fully established in 1999 in Queens, New York and in the early 2000s pivoted their focus to anti-war efforts in the Middle East. They continued their delegation trips to Korea and deepened their anti-imperialist resolve.

The organizers also gave a brief but in-depth review of the history of the Korean war. They began from when the Japan imperial flag was lowered in 1945 to how the U.S. military swept in immediately to quell any rising socialist sentiments. The Korean people were forced to trade from one brutal, imperialist force to another. The U.S. helped lead a murderous campaign against the Korean people to eliminate any opposition. At the time, it was estimated that 70% of the people of Korea were interested in socialism and the U.S. effectively eliminated close to 3 million of them.

With the U.S. still present in the peninsula, this makes it the longest running war in U.S. history.

In the last few years, the U.S. military activity has sharply increased in recent years. In 2023, U.S. forces conducted 200 days of military exercises. In mid-August, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will hold nuclear war exercises in Korea in joint military drills. These drills will occur during the Democratic National Convention in the U.S.

The escalation on behalf of the U.S. and the ROK has increased tensions with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This led to the DPRK’s announcement earlier this year that they can’t see a future where peaceful reunification is possible with the ROK. As long as the ROK is not just under U.S. influence, but actively seeks to ally themselves with them, there can’t be a peaceful process.

Additionally, under President Biden's administration, the U.S., ROK and Japan have joined in an alliance called JAROKUS and are on the way to build the new “Asian NATO.”

Ju-Hyun Park, the Nodutdol lead organizer for the U.S. Out of Korea campaign, stated “We are just weeks away from the U.S. conduction nuclear war exercises in Korea. These drills do not keep Koreans safe—in fact, they are pushing the Korean Peninsula towards open warfare. For more than 70 years the U.S. government has pursued a failed strategy of aggression against North Korea. Now, the U.S. is escalating its aggression to try to turn Korea into a battlefield for the New Cold War.”

Once the attendees understood the history of the region, Nodutdol organizers presented the campaign demands to an enthusiastic crowd. The demands, reprinted here are:

• US OUT OF KOREA: the full and permanent withdrawal of US troops and weapons systems from Korea. We demand all Korean land, water, and airspace appropriated for the US military be returned to the Korean people.
• END THE U.S.-SOUTH KOREA ALLIANCE: an end to ALL US-South Korea alliances, including the JAKUS trilateral security cooperation. We demand an end to ALL US-South Korea joint command structures—the Combined Forces Command, and the UN Command. 
• END ALL AGGRESSION AGAINST NORTH KOREA: We demand an end to ALL US military exercises in Korea. We demand ALL sanctions against North Korea be lifted.
• END THE WAR ECONOMY: We demand the US government divert spending from war, prisons, and policing. We demand housing, education, healthcare, and climate justice for working people.

The crowd clapped as each demand was listed.

Park continued, “As Koreans in the diaspora, we refuse to stand by as the U.S. foments war in our homeland. We believe standing up to U.S. imperialism in Korea is not just in our interests as Korean people, but in the interests of the majority of people in the U.S. as well. It’s time to work together to stop U.S. warmongering in Korea and around the world.”

Over 30 organizations have endorsed the campaign, including: Black Alliance for Peace, Codepink, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Bayan USA.

The next event will be a rally on August 18 to protest the U.S. and ROK war games.

 #NewYorkNY #NYC #DPRK #USOutOfKorea #BlackAllianceforPeace #BAP #Codepink #FRSO #BayanUSA #ROK #RepublicOfKorea #Korea #Nudutdol #JAROKUS #Japan #ThePeoplesForum

Washington, DC – On July 7, hundreds of activists from over 60 organizations mobilized to protest the 75th anniversary NATO Summit occurring July 9 -11 in the city. The protest, organized the Resist NATO coalition started at McPherson Square and marched to the White House, demanding an end to U.S.- NATO aggression and to defend peoples’ struggles.  

The Resist NATO coalition is made up of various groups including the International League of Peoples’ Struggle – US (ILPS-US), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Bayan USA, Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), International Action Center, and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). 

A member of NAARPR spoke at the rally stating, “From the war-torn streets of Afghanistan to the devastated cities of Libya, we raise our voices in support of those who have been killed by U.S. military aggression. Instead of money going towards our military, why is money not going towards our community? Why is money not going towards education? Or mental health?” The U.S. is by far the largest contributor to NATO’s budget. In 2023, the U.S. represented 68% of the total expenditure of NATO, spending $860 billion.

An organizer in Palestinian Youth Movement stated, “It is not only important, but necessary, to resist NATO through a broad united front, in order to protect people’s just struggle for freedom in Palestine, in the Philippines, in Puerto Rico, in Washington DC, and everywhere in the world. The peoples’ resistance in Palestine threatens the interests of Western imperialism and for the first time in recent history, the tides are turning. The myth of Israeli invincibility, of U.S. supremacy, of the futility of resistance, and of capitulation being the only solution has shattered. People around the world are joining the fight for total liberation.”

The Resist NATO coalition had a successful weekend of actions to protest the NATO summit, and they plan to continue building out the united front against US-NATO military escalation and aggression.

#WashingtonDC #ResistNATO #ResistNATOCoalition #FreePalestine #Philippines #PuertoRico #Imperialism #ILPS #FRSO #NAARPR #IAC #BAP #NATO #NATOSummit #USOutOfThePhilippines

Washington, DC – On July 6, the Resist NATO Coalition hosted a Counter-Summit with over 300 attendees from across the country, two panels, and a cultural performance. This year is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Resist NATO coalition states, “In practice, NATO acts as an armed wing of U.S.-led war.” Key slogans from the event included calls for the U.S. out of the Philippines, and an end to the ongoing U.S.-backed genocide of the Palestinian people.

The Resist NATO coalition is comprised of over 60 organizations such as the International League of Peoples’ Struggle – US (ILPS-US), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Bayan USA, Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), the International Action Center, and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

The coalition was formed in response to NATO hosting a summit in Washington, DC this year July 9, 10 and 11.

The speaking panels featured activists and organizers from the peoples’ struggles, such as Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Nodutdol, Diaspora Pa’lante Collective, Pan-African Community Action, etc.; discussing how to connect their fights through the collective need to dismantle NATO and resist its military aggression and escalation.

One of the panelists, from the Milwaukee Anti-War Committee, discussed the need to join the March on the RNC in Milwaukee on July 15 to fight against the racist and reactionary Trump agenda.

One of the panelists, an organizer in Palestinian Youth Movement, stated, “The NATO military alliance was created to protect Western imperialist interests in the wake of growing communism and people’s liberation movements internationally after World War II. NATO is anti-people in nature, a piece in the imperialist war machine that aims to crush national liberation movements in order to maintain Western hegemonic rule and control over the world’s resources.”

The Counter-Summit was followed by a mass mobilization the next day.

#WashingtonDC #AntiWarMovement #NATO #ResistNATO #ILPS #FRSO #Bayan #BAP #NAARPR #IAC

Los Angeles, CA – In a packed room of Black and Chicano activists, high school students, and other supporters, a May 23 forum was held in support of the Hands Off the Uhuru 3 movement. The Uhuru movement is led by the African People's Socialist Party, which is facing political attacks by the FBI.

On July 29, 2022, the FBI carried out a violent military style pre-dawn raid on Uhuru Movement leader Omali Yeshitela’s home in North St. Louis, Missouri. They also raided several other homes and offices.

In April of 2023, the U.S. government indicted Chairman Omali Yeshitela, African People's Solidarity Committee Chairperson Penny Hess, and Uhuru Solidarity Movement Chair Jesse Nevel on false, slanderous charges that they were working for Russia.

The Los Angeles event was emceed by Ron Gochez, political secretary of Union del Barrio (UdB). He welcomed Desiree P. Gaytan of UdB, who gave a brief history of Black political struggle in South Central Los Angeles, including the Watts Rebellion and the LAPD attack on the Black Panther Party.

Several solidarity statements were given including African Town Coalition, Ron Wilkins, the Lumumba Coalition, Black Alliance for Peace, and the Socialist Unity Party.

A statement from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Central Committee was read by Carlos Montes, “Freedom Road Socialist Organization is committed to pushing back against this repression and we stand in solidarity with those under attack. We know from experience how important resistance to repression is.”

Montes also stressed the long history of unity with the Chicano and Black liberation movements.

The program included a video of the FBI raid of seven of the APSP homes and offices. The FBI used flash and smoke grenades and smashed open doors and detained Chairman Omali and his wife.

The keynote address was given by African People's Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela, who denounced the FBI raids and the bogus charges.

A call was made to attend the trial in Tampa, Florida on September 3. A spirited fundraising pitch raised more than $2000.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #Uhuru3 #UDB #APSP #BAP #SUP

Atlanta, GA – On May 18, a Nakba Day protest took place outside of the CNN headquarters, as part of the global commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, marking the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948.

The rally highlighted the growing struggle for Palestinian liberation and programs like the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) that must be defeated for the collective liberation of Palestinians and Black folks in the South.

Layla Amar, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement in Atlanta, said, “We gathered in Atlanta to commemorate the Nakba, which means catastrophe in Arabic. Nakba day is a remembrance of May 15, 1948 where the Zionist entity murdered 15,000 and exiled 750,000 Palestinians. Too often when the world talks about Palestine, we center Palestinian victimhood, but I want to ensure that this Nakba day we also remember the resilience of the Palestinian people as they have played an imperative role in globalizing the Intifada.”

Speakers from the University of Georgia spoke out on the movement’s erecting encampments on campuses across the country demanding that schools disclose their ties to the Israeli occupation and divest from those ties. Community groups’ speakers highlighted the need for solidarity with the Palestinian people from the Philippines to the Black Belt South.

Laith Abdel Hader, an organizer with the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated “The tide of the Palestinian liberation movement is rising and the struggle is escalating. As this tide is rising, all liberation struggles are rising with it, especially the Black liberation struggle here in the U.S. Folks here and abroad are seeing how these struggles are connected, fighting them here at home like we are with the GILEE program.”

The GILEE program, housed at Georgia State University, allows for IOF soldiers and Georgia police officers to train one another, sharing tactics and methods to repress communities and their movements. GILEE participants include C.J. Davis, the current police chief in Memphis and former supervisor of the Red Dog unit in Atlanta, which notoriously has brutalized and maimed dozens of Black folks. The same Red Dog unit that murdered 26 year old Jamarion Robinson – shooting him 76 times “on suspicion” in 2016. Ending the GILEE program is tied directly with the fight against police crimes in the city.

The Nakba protest was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Athens Against Apartheid, Georgia Students for Divestment, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Black Alliance for Peace, Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and ATL Radical Art.

Amar stated, “Palestine represents the worldwide oppression created by this imperial system, which means it is essential that the people in Atlanta, and all of us in the heart of the empire, play an active role in the fight for liberation.”

#AtlantaGA #GA #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #Nakba #NAARPR #AAARPR #GILEE #PYM #FRSO #BAP #ATLRA #AAA #GSD