New York, NY – On October 3, New Yorkers joined the Anti-War Action Network National Day of Action to demand no U.S. intervention in Venezuela and “Free Cilia, free Maduro.” Waving Venezuelan flags and holding signs that read “Support women’s health! Release Cilia Flores,” 50 local activists and community members rallied outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, in Sunset Park, where Maduro and Flores are being held prisoner on bogus charges of narcoterrorism.

The rally marked nine months since Maduro and Flores were abducted from Caracas, Venezuela during an illegal U.S. raid, which killed over 100 people. It also came only five days before Cilia Flores is due in court for a hearing to decide whether she should be released under house arrest as a result of her worsening health. Since being kidnapped, Flores has experienced increasingly severe cardiac issues, including what her lawyers believe was a heart attack on July 29.

Additionally, court documents filed on September 30th revealed that in May 2026, the U.S. government attempted to force Flores to undergo heart surgery without her consent, transporting her to the hospital without warning and without a chance to consult with her lawyers. Her lawyers cite these and other incidents as part of their argument that Flores must be released to house arrest in order to undergo the needed heart surgery, which she would not be able to effectively recover from while in custody at the MDC.

At the rally, speakers kept the focus on Flores and highlighted these revelations from the court documents.

Briony Smith, who led the action on behalf of Brooklyn Against War, said “Now, Cilia needs us to come to her defense. Cilia is facing the same mistreatment, medical neglect, and denial of her bodily autonomy that so many women in the U.S. prison system face. We are here because she should never have been illegally abducted from Caracas. We are here because every woman has the right to make their own medical decisions. We are here because we must fight for Cilia as fiercely as she has fought for the women and people of Venezuela.”

Other speakers at the rally represented a broad coalition of anti-imperialist organizations, including Black Alliance for Peace, Workers World Party, All African People’s Revolution Party, Struggle La Lucha, Colectivo Bravo Pueblo, Movimiento Revolución Ciudadana, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Amidst chants of, “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Cilia from these walls,” Joe Wilkins of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “So when we, as citizens of the United States, say ‘Free Cilia Flores,’ we’re not asking! We’re demanding that our government takes its boot off the neck of Venezuela, off Latin America, off the Caribbean, off West Asia, off the Pacific, off everyone it’s holding as a political prisoner! The Freedom Road Socialist Organization will not rest until these two political prisoners are free.”

The final speaker of the rally, Michela Martinazzi, also of Brooklyn Against War stated, “The billionaire class thrives on the oppression of women,” said Martinazzi, “from the heartbeat bill to trans women, to kidnapping women by ICE, Black women killed by the police to the thousands of women overseas Vietnam to Korea to the Philippines. By demanding that Cilia receives appropriate medical care, we are standing up for women everywhere neglected by this rotten system!”

After a short march, the rally ended with a moment of celebration. Participants signed cards and sang Happy Birthday for Flores, whose 70th birthday is on October 15.

The same organizations will also rally on Thursday, October 8, outside of the Federal Courthouse in Manhattan, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and continuing through Flores’s hearing, which is scheduled for 10:30 that day. The rally will be followed by a public press conference.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #CiliaFlores #NicolasMaduro

New York, NY – For the seventh consecutive month, organizers from the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression gathered members of the community, September 24, to protest the NYPD’s 71st Precinct, where killer cop Conrado Abreu-Gerez continues to draw a six-figure salary. Abreu-Gerez and his partner, Peter Lan, shot and killed 26-year-old Eudes Pierre in December 2021.

Before the speaker program, the New York Alliance gathered a crowd flyering at a nearby subway station. Commuters and passersby, including a high school classmate of Eudes Pierre, expressed outrage that Abreu-Gerez faced no consequences for murdering Eudes. Several told stories of officer misconduct, harassment and incompetence at the 71st Precinct and surrounding precincts.

Organizers then set up in front of NYPD barricades to begin the protest. They were joined by members of the community, including Eudes Pierre’s family. Also in attendance were organizers representing groups such as We The People NYC, who later spoke on systemic corruption.

Participants directed chants at the half dozen cops watching from behind the barricade, shouting, “How do you spell murderer? NYPD!” The officers wore bulletproof vests and kept their hands on their weapons. Among them was Deputy Inspector John Dasaro, the commanding officer of the 71st Precinct. Dasaro is the officer at the 71st with the most substantiated allegations. He made headlines in 2019 when he pulled his gun on a group of Black children in Halloween costumes. The NYPD later invoked its authority to unilaterally end the cases against Dasaro and other officers involved.

The NYPD overpolices Black and brown neighborhoods. Sheina Banatte, Eudes Pierre’s cousin, said, “There’s food insecurity, there’s unemployment, there’s housing, there’s people who can’t even afford to pay to take the subway, but they’re being criminalized.” Every racially-motivated stop risks NYPD escalation to deadly force, especially for people experiencing mental health crises like Pierre did in 2021.

NYAARPR Chair Shivani Ishwar ended the protest with a call to join the fight for community control of the police. They said, “What we cannot do alone, we can accomplish together!” Protesters dispersed with chants of “Justice for Eudes Pierre!” and “If we don’t get no justice, then they don’t get no peace!”

After dispersing, officers from the 71st Precinct followed members of the New York Alliance in unmarked cars. They initiated stops of three members who were waiting for public transit. Lieutenant Christopher Maccarone, Sergeant Michael John, and Officers Darren Moore and Pedro Mendez attempted to intimidate the organizers, ultimately leaving without making an arrest or issuing summons.

The New York Alliance will continue to protest the 71st Precinct until Conrado Abreu-Gerez and all killer cops are held accountable. As Joe Wilkins of the New York Alliance put it in his speech earlier that evening, “This fight only ends when we win true justice for every life stolen and destroyed by police violence.”

#NewYorkNY #BrooklynNY #NYC #NY #InjusticeSystem #EudesPierre #CornadoAbreuGerez #KillerCop #OppressedNationalities #NYAARPR

New York, NY – On Saturday, September 19, the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR) staged a speak-out outside of killer cop Conrado Abreu-Gerez’s latest address in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Speaking through a megaphone, activists informed the community that a killer NYPD officer is now calling their neighborhood home. They also passed out flyers reading “Wanted: Killer cop!” and “Justice for Eudes Pierre!”

The response from the community was one of shock, with numerous passersby thanking the activists for the information on their new neighbor.

Abreu-Gerez is one of two officers responsible for the December 2021 murder of Eudes Pierre, a 26-year-old man from Crown Heights, who called 911 while experiencing a mental health crisis in a subway station. Along with his partner Peter Lan, Abreu-Gerez proceeded to follow Pierre for blocks, until they finally reached the front steps of his childhood home, where they shot him ten times. Seven of those shots were fired by Abreu-Gerez.

Hannah Healy, a NYAARPR organizer, explained to residents that Abreu-Gerez “has a long list of complaints and allegations,” which even the notoriously close-ranked NYPD had to acknowledge. Indeed, Abreu-Gerez’s career with the NYPD includes eight allegations of misconduct against Black men in particular, including for excessive use of force, abuse of authority, and failure to use a body cam properly.

As Healy explained, Abreu-Gerez’s actions show a “pattern that mirrors the system at large: violence against Black men.”

“For being Black, the NYPD will assault you, beat you, right before unlawfully arresting and detaining you,” she continued. “Such was the case when Conrado and ten other police officers attacked Isaiah Day in 2021. It was proven that Conrado and the other officers then lied to the district attorney’s office to justify their actions – as if the violence wasn’t enough.”

After speaking out in front of the killer cop’s new home, activists plastered “wanted” posters around the surrounding area, featuring information on Abreu-Gerez’s crimes, as well as an image of his department portrait. This brought even more opportunities for one-on-one conversations with the community, which were overwhelmingly positive.

The weekend action comes ahead of a planned picket in front of the 71st NYPD Precinct, where Abreu-Gerez works, on September 24 at 6 p.m..New York, NY – On Saturday, September 19, the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR) staged a speak-out outside of killer cop Conrado Abreu-Gerez’s latest address in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Speaking through a megaphone, activists informed the community that a killer NYPD officer is now calling their neighborhood home. They also passed out flyers reading “Wanted: Killer cop!” and “Justice for Eudes Pierre!”

The response from the community was one of shock, with numerous passersby thanking the activists for the information on their new neighbor.

Abreu-Gerez is one of two officers responsible for the December 2021 murder of Eudes Pierre, a 26-year-old man from Crown Heights, who called 911 while experiencing a mental health crisis in a subway station. Along with his partner Peter Lan, Abreu-Gerez proceeded to follow Pierre for blocks, until they finally reached the front steps of his childhood home, where they shot him ten times. Seven of those shots were fired by Abreu-Gerez.

Hannah Healy, a NYAARPR organizer, explained to residents that Abreu-Gerez “has a long list of complaints and allegations,” which even the notoriously close-ranked NYPD had to acknowledge. Indeed, Abreu-Gerez’s career with the NYPD includes eight allegations of misconduct against Black men in particular, including for excessive use of force, abuse of authority, and failure to use a body cam properly.

As Healy explained, Abreu-Gerez’s actions show a “pattern that mirrors the system at large: violence against Black men.”

“For being Black, the NYPD will assault you, beat you, right before unlawfully arresting and detaining you,” she continued. “Such was the case when Conrado and ten other police officers attacked Isaiah Day in 2021. It was proven that Conrado and the other officers then lied to the district attorney’s office to justify their actions – as if the violence wasn’t enough.”

After speaking out in front of the killer cop’s new home, activists plastered “wanted” posters around the surrounding area, featuring information on Abreu-Gerez’s crimes, as well as an image of his department portrait. This brought even more opportunities for one-on-one conversations with the community, which were overwhelmingly positive.

The weekend action comes ahead of a planned picket in front of the 71st NYPD Precinct, where Abreu-Gerez works, on September 24 at 6 p.m.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #InjusticeSystem #KillerCop #EudesPierre #CornadoAbreuGerez

Brooklyn, NY- On September 19, a dozen activists joined Brooklyn Against War for a speakout against Trump's war in Iran. The event was part of a National Day of Action called by the Anti-War Action Network, marking over 200 days of war on Iran.

Protesters including members of Brooklyn Against War, Brooklyn for Peace, and community members in the square listened to speeches condemning the war and made anti-war signs.

“Let's not forget the Trump regime brazenly used our tax dollars to bomb a children's school in Iran close to 200 days ago. Shame!” said a member of Brooklyn Against War. “We all know the war in Iran isn't the first of Trump's imperialist escapades. In January, Trump kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, killing over a hundred civilians.”

Brooklyn Against War members will be holding a rally on October 3 outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where President Maduro and First Lady Flores are held. They also plan to be outside the courthouse on October 8 to demand the immediate release of Cilia Flores, who cannot recover from her cardiac condition within the harsh conditions of the MDC.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #AntiWarMovement #Iran #AWAN #BrooklynAgainstWar

Brooklyn, NY – On September 14, Brooklyn Against War hosted a documentary screening and letter-writing event in support of its campaign to free Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

At a local Brooklyn bar and community space, the activist group showed Oliver Stone’s 2009 documentary South of the Border. The film centers around interviews with then-Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, alongside many other progressive and left-wing contemporary Latin American leaders, such as Evo Morales. The film challenges the mainstream American media narratives, which vilified these leaders for standing up for their people’s interests against American imperialist exploitation.

Attendees at the screening reflected on how the United States propaganda of the 2000s mirrors the propaganda deployed against kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, who are imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), just a few miles from where the screening took place.

Briony Smith of Brooklyn Against War spoke about Cilia Flores’s health, saying “This is a woman who has spent her career fighting for the social and economic rights of her people, and now she is having heart attacks in a Brooklyn jail. It’s crucial we fight to show people the truth about Cilia, Maduro and Venezuela.”

The night finished with participants writing to Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to demand an end to the sanctions on Venezuela and freedom for Maduro and Flores.

BAW further called on all attendees to join the organization in protesting at the MDC on October 3, as part of the Anti-War Action Network National Day of Action to free Maduro and Flores and say no to U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

#NYC NewYorkCity #Antiwar #Southoftheborder #Maduro #Brooklyn #Antiwarmovement #Venezuela

New York City, NY – The Alliance of Substitutes and Paraprofessionals (ASAP), a new group of militants within the NYC United Federation of Teachers, held a “Para RESPECT Check Town Hall” over Zoom on Wednesday, September 16.

The meeting was held to hear the voices of paras, the most underpaid education workers in the city, on the new “RESPECT Check” legislation which recently became law and which led to a controversial lawsuit against NYC City Council by Mayor Mamdani’s office.

The UFT successfully lobbied city council members for two years to win paras a $10,000 bonus check, which every city council member voted in support of. When the bill reached Mayor Mamdani’s desk, he decided to sue, because he believes it violates state law on collective bargaining. If Mamdani’s lawsuit succeeds, paras will not get the $10,000 check.

According to New York’s “Taylor Law”, all increases in wages for public sector workers must be won through the collective bargaining process, instead of through local politics. However, the UFT says that it wrote the language of the bill to avoid this problem. Meanwhile, paras wait in limbo to see whether or not they will receive the check.

Among rank-and-file organizers within the UFT, there wasn’t an immediate consensus on how to move forward. Some wanted to fight Mamdani’s lawsuit, others wanted to leave it and put more effort into rank and file organizing around a 2027 contract campaign.

The ASAP organizers recognized the heated nature of the moment and called for the town hall to hear the voices of paraprofessionals, those directly affected, on which direction to go next.

Over 50 educators joined the call, the vast majority being paras. Paras shared their thoughts and feelings on the RESPECT Check and other issues. Many voiced militant ideas about fighting for better pay and better working conditions.

Of the 14 different paras who spoke up at the town hall, nine supported the check and wanted to fight to retain it, while two did not. Three thought some other course of action should be taken.

Shamina Popy, one para on the call, said, “For me, the check is about more than just the money. It’s about recognizing the hard work paraprofessionals like me do every day for our students and our schools. We give so much of ourselves to support our students, and we deserve to have that work valued. The town hall was important because it brought us together and reminded us that we have a strong voice when we stand together. I believe we need to keep fighting for the check and continue making our voices heard.”

#NYC #NewYorkCity #TownHall #UnitedFederationofTeachers #Labor

New York, NY – On September 4, at Washington Square Park, members of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at NYU rallied to demand, “No ICE on campus!” and “Sanctuary campus now!”

Protesters chanted, “Say it once, say it twice! We will not put up with ICE!” and “When Immigrants are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” People passing by the rally took photos and videos of the action, some staying to listen to speeches or chant along. Many offered support to the protesters. 

Zaara Ahmed, a member of SDS and emcee, began, “We are rallying here today to fight back against the violence perpetrated by ICE across this country every single day,” emphasizing, “Systemic change does not come from one moment or one rally. To see justice, the fight must be continuous. We organize because survival depends on it because silence is not neutrality. Silence is permission.” 

Laynee Jade, a student activist at NYU, spoke about the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants. “Right now, there is one bill left that will restore TPS for Haitians and that is Senate Bill S4814. So, call your senator and ask them to vote on it. We can stop the deportation of 350,000 people,” adding, “By the end of this year, Trump will have plans to deport every single group, and it is up to us whether or not we’re going to allow that.”

Ebtesham Ahmed, also with NYU SDS, ended the rally, “People all throughout the country are not taking ICE’s terror sitting down. We are fighting and it has got the folks in the Trump administration shitting their pants. It is a reminder to them that the power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Ahmed also said, “That is why we got to bring that fight here to NYU. Seeing the detentions of students across campuses in the country, it is important that we fight to make sure our community here is safe. That is why we are demanding a sanctuary campus at NYU.”

Protesters chanted to end the rally. Organizers directed protesters to attend SDS’ new members meeting, emphasizing the importance of organizing and fighting back against NYU and the Trump administration.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYU #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #ICE #SanctuaryCampus

New York, NY – A new, militant group of rank-and-file unionists formed within the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) this week, called “ASAP – Alliance of Substitutes and Paraprofessionals”.

The new group, mainly consisting of members of the union’s reform caucus MORE (Movement of Rank-and-File Educators), was formed to meet a pressing need in the union. In the NYC Department of Education, substitute teachers, paraprofessionals and substitute paraprofessionals are the most neglected workers. So, union members are banding together to change this. In addition, the inequality in pay and conditions takes on a nationality, racial, and gendered character with many substitutes and most paraprofessionals being Black, Latino, immigrant and women.

While there are some groups which exist within the union to address certain specific issues that affect these education workers, such as Fix Para Pay, ASAP hopes to be the rank and file led option which really engages in militant fights on these issues.

Paraprofessionals are in the news lately, for many reasons. Most recently, Mayor Mamdani decided to sue NYC City Council for passing the Para RESPECT Check bill into law, which will provide a $10,000 bonus check for paras, which the UFT has been pushing for over the last two years. Additionally, the city’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS) attacked para retirees by demanding they make huge repayments due to a miscalculation on the part of TRS. Thankfully, this attack was partially routed by the UFT’s response via its legal team.

Meanwhile, substitutes do not have proper representation in the union. Most titles, such as teachers, social workers and paras, have their own chapters, whether based in the school or otherwise. Substitutes have no chapter of their own, which means there is no mechanism to formally represent their collective voice. Also, substitutes do not have representation on UFT’s executive board or at its delegate assembly, the union’s primary decision-making body.

Claude Copland, a member of ASAP and a substitute teacher in the Bronx, said, “As a long-term substitute teacher for almost five years now, I look forward to working with other subs and paras to help build a union that does not take any title for granted and wants to see the best outcomes for all their members.”

The Alliance of Subs and Paras vows to build the fight around these kinds of issues and will be holding related events.

ASAP is hosting a Para Town Hall, where paraprofessionals can gather to give their voice on what course of action to take with the recent lawsuit from the city against city council’s Para RESPECT Check. The event will take place over Zoom on September 16, at 6 p.m.

For more about the Alliance of Subs and Paras, follow them at: @nycsubparaalliance on Instagram.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Labor #UnitedFederationOfTeachers #Teachers

New York, NY – On August 15, over 100 people gathered in the heart of Times Square, near the Army Recruiting Office, to mark Korean Liberation Day. The protest was organized by Nodutdol and Bayan USA.

Korean Liberation Day is a celebration of the Korean resistance rising up and overthrowing Japanese imperialism on August 15, 1945. Since that day, it has become a yearly celebration to remember the militancy of the Korean people against imperialism and occupation.

For this protest, Nodutdol and Bayan demanded “U.S. out of Korea” and an end to the Pacific war. The United States has long engaged in violent meddling and intervention in South Korea to oppose North Korea. Additionally, weapon trade and war games in the region have escalated deaths of civilians.

A speaker from Nodutdol said, “My grandmother lived through the Korean War as a young girl. The U.S. claims to have saved Korea, but my grandmother and the millions of civilians killed would say otherwise. We cannot hear the voices of the dead, but we must hear the voices of the living!”

Next, the action marched to the Philippines Consulate, where a speaker from Anakbayan told of the complicity of the Philippines government in the oppression of its people both in the U.S. and at home. They went on to share how Filipino and Korean people are both affected in similar ways by U.S. imperialism, the military presence in their homelands, and “war games” conducted by the U.S., Philippines and South Korea, to imitate acts of war against China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Protesters marched to a corporate office for Hanwha, a South Korean weapons profiteer that also makes deals with the government of the Philippines. A speaker from the Philadelphia Alliance Against Imperialism explained how Hanwha has recently expanded its operations in the nearby city, directly profiting from U.S. imperialism’s warmongering and forcing its workers to endure dangerous and even deadly conditions.

Throughout the rally and march, protesters chanted, “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, U.S. out of everywhere!” and “From Korea to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Korea #USOutofKorea #Nodutdol #BayanUSA #AntiWarMovement #KoreanLiberationDay #Feature

Brooklyn, NY – On August 3, at 5:30 p.m., anti-war activists gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, demanding freedom for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. This rally was part of a picket that takes place on the third day of every month, marking the anniversary of January 3 , when the United States bombed Venezuela and abducted the two political leaders.

The organizations in attendance, including Black Alliance for Peace NYC/NJ,Brooklyn Against War, Code Pink, and Workers World Party, have been on the front lines of the struggle to free Maduro and Flores for seven months.

Chants of “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!” and “¡Cilia aguanta, el pueblo se levanta!” rang through the isolated area surrounding the prison.

Briony Smith, a member of Brooklyn Against War and the Anti War Action Network Steering Committee, stated, “Seven months since Maduro and Cilia were illegally kidnapped from Venezuela — say shame! Seven months that they’ve been imprisoned in the United States, right here in the MDC, awaiting a bogus trial of fabricated charges. Shame!”

Smith continued, “And one more time, you all have been out here every single month. You’ve been here through the freezing cold, through brutal heatwaves, in apocalyptic smoke. We have been outside the court in January, in March, and July despite the racist, reactionary gusanos who pretend to speak for the Venezuelan people.”

The rally ended with a short march around the federal prison buildings. Protesters are determined to continue the picket, which will take place again on September 3, and are prepared to mobilize for future court dates.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #Maduro #CiliaFlores #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela

New York City , NY – Early on the morning of Wednesday, July 22, dozens of anti-war activists and community members gathered facing the courthouse in downtown Manhattan for the federal hearing of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

This was the third hearing after the abduction of Maduro and Flores from their home in Caracas on January 3. The Trump administration carried out a bombing campaign that killed around 80 people in their pursuit of the president and first lady. They were brought to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where they are awaiting a sham trial.

The protest outside was organized by several organizations, many who have been on the frontlines of the struggle to free Maduro and Flores since January 3. The forces were Brooklyn Against War, Black Alliance for Peace, Workers World Party, Bronx Anti War, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The rally began with chants such as, “We want justice, you say how? Free Maduro, free him now!” and “Donald Trump, you’re a liar! No more wars for empire!”

“President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were kidnapped by Trump and the U.S. government after an illegal military invasion. They have committed no crime. We are here in NYC to oppose their kidnapping, detention and trial! They should be set free!” said Tom Burke, a longtime anti-war activist and organizational secretary for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The chants and rallies continued, despite the small opposition forces trying to feebly out-chant the protest.

As the protest in New York was happening, there were concurrent protests all over Venezuela in support of their president and first lady.

The last speech was made by Briony Smith, a member of Brooklyn Against War and a steering committee member of the Anti-war Action Network, “It is not the will of the American people to invade foreign nations and capture their leaders, because it is not the American people who grow rich off their exploitation. Every day, more and more people in this country are realizing that we have more in common with the people of the Philippines, Palestine or Venezuela than we do with Congress, the White House, or Wall Street.”

Smith continued, “American imperialism is crumbling, while our movement is growing. President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have done nothing wrong, and they will walk free! The sanctions on Venezuela will be lifted! The people will be victorious!”

The rally finished with a march and protesters are ready to gather for future hearings. The next seems to be set for November 17. The trial is officially set for June 2027, and activists are ready to hit the ground running to build the campaign to free Maduro and Flores.

#NewYorkCityNY #NY #NYC #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #Maduro #CiliaFlores #Feature

Brooklyn, NY — On the evening of Friday, July 17, community members gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center for a speak-out style protest under the banner “No more ICE murders!”

The action, held in full view of the Gowanus Expressway, was organized by the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which was joined by organizers and speakers from Brooklyn Against War, NYC ICE Watch, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Protesters unfurled a massive banner reading “ICE out of everywhere” as rush-hour traffic roared past on the elevated expressway and Brooklyn’s 3rd Avenue. That tactic drew plenty of positive attention, as drivers on the expressway responded with a chorus of honks, signaling solidarity with the demonstrators. Meanwhile, organizers handed out flyers to pedestrians walking past on the sidewalk, some of whom joined the action to chant and listen to the lineup of speakers.

Speakers addressed the crowd and passing commuters alike, demanding justice for the victims of recent ICE violence, legalization for all undocumented immigrants, and a complete withdrawal of ICE and all federal agents from New York City. Conditions around the MDC, a federal facility holding at least 200 immigrants, many of whom have not been charged with a crime, were condemned as a manifestation of racist national repression.

“The Metropolitan detention center is notorious for being dark and overcrowded, for mold and fungus, and poor quality food, for non-functioning toilets and unsanitary conditions,” NYAARPR organizer Jamie Kowalski said in a speech. “We demand free all ICE detainees from the MDC!”

The evening's program also featured calls to action linking local resistance to the broader national movement against ICE violence.

“We are the New York Alliance, and we are out here to say we reject the idea that communities are made safer by armed immigration raids,” said organizer Ruby Doswell. “We reject the criminalization of immigrants who come to this country to work, support their families, and build a future. We demand accountability for the deaths of Lorenzo [Salgado Araujo], Joan [Sebastián Durán Guerrero], and Juan [Jairo Coronilla Duran].”

In their speech, Briony Smith, an organizer with Brooklyn Against War, observed that repressive immigration enforcement is not “arbitrary” or “isolated,” but the domestic arm of U.S. imperialism.

ICE repression “is part of a larger agenda that looks to expel, in particular, Latin American people but not exclusively, at the same time that the Trump administration attempts to extend its tentacles throughout Central and South America to suck dry the resources of sovereign countries, in order to enrich American billionaires,” Smith told the crowd.

The protest comes amid escalating outrage over ICE’s deadly operations and the ongoing invasions of immigrant communities. Organizers made it clear that the struggle is far from over, vowing to continue building pressure until ICE is removed from every corner of the city.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #ImmigrantRights #NYAARPR

Last week on July 1, Nadia Topete, an immigrant rights activist and organizer with Centro CSO, was issued a grand jury subpoena by police in Los Angeles. By now, it’s clear the purpose of this grand jury is to investigate and harass organizers who mobilized to resist ICE oppression in Los Angeles last summer.

The New York Alliance is proud to stand in solidarity with Nadia and all other immigrant rights organizers facing this vile repression throughout the country, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms. Repression against activists takes many forms, and the grand jury is one of the key legal tools weaponized against organized movements.

Grand juries are secret proceedings often used against activists in order to criminalize dissent and weaken our movements. 

Nadia was first subpoenaed to testify in June, and now they’ve come for her again. It’s clear this grand jury is being called to pressure Nadia into talking about last summer’s anti-ICE protests — which led to bogus conspiracy charges against fellow organizer Alejandro Orellana that were later dropped. 

We demand that US Attorney Bilal Essayli and assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat drop the grand jury investigation now! 

Hands off Nadia! 

End repression of all immigration activists!

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYAARPR #NadiaTopete #ImmigrantRights #PoliticalRepression

NYC, NY – On June 28, beginning in Union Square, Manhattan, thousands participated in the annual Queer Liberation March.

The event is an alternative to the Pride march and gives the radical and militant activists in the LGBTQ community the opportunity to organize away from the corporate sponsors of Pride.

The annual march always hosts a large array of progressive, leftist and revolutionary organizations who uphold the militant legacy of 1969 Stonewall Riots, where the LGBTQ community of NYC’s Village fought back fiercely against violent police raids.

One organization present at the march was Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), which led a contingent of 700 people at its height.

Chants included “Out of the closet and into the streets, no justice, no peace!” “We will not be quiet, Stonewall was a fucking riot!” “Say it loud and say it clear, ICE and feds ain’t welcome here!” Flags showing solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon were also present.

The march went from Union Square to the ICE headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza, showing solidarity with immigrants detained by ICE.

A participant in the march and member of FRSO, Shivani Ishwar, said, “The cause of queer liberation is much bigger than a corporate Pride parade. We understand that all rights that queer and trans people have were earned in blood. The system is trying to claw back those rights, with crackdowns on queer and trans communities nationwide, along with the terror being unleashed on immigrants by ICE and the feds. We recognize that we must continue to stand together in militant solidarity, to protect those rights and to win our demand for liberation. Until all of us are free, no one is, and that goes for every community under attack by the Trump administration and U.S. imperialism.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #LGBTQ #Pride #Stonewall #ImmigrantRights

Brooklyn, NY – Organizers from the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression gathered in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn on Friday, June 19, to speak out against police crimes that disproportionately affect Black and brown communities of New York City.

Held on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the day when the enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom after the U.S. Civil War, the speakout was a part of a National Day of Action called by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Speakers from the New York Alliance focused on the struggles of families to demand justice for their loved ones lost to police brutality across the country. In Brooklyn, the Alliance works closely with the family of Eudes Pierre, a young Black man who was murdered by the NYPD while in the midst of a mental health crisis in 2021. Over four years later, the Civilian Complaint Review Board has ruled in favor of the officers, and State Attorney General Letitia James has declined to pursue any charges against them.

“If executing a young Black man during a mental health crisis is ‘within guidelines,’ then the entire institution is fundamentally, structurally criminal,” said Jamie Kowalski, a member of the New York Alliance. “We stand in unwavering solidarity with the family of Eudes Pierre, alongside the families of every person whose life was stolen by police violence.”

The day of action also focused on the erosions of voting rights that the Trump administration and Supreme Court have been steadily pushing, including the recent Louisiana v. Callais, which rolls back protections of Black people’s right to vote enshrined by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, protections that were hard won by the Civil Rights and Black Liberation movements of the 1960s.

Shivani Ishwar, the Chair of NYAARPR, said, “Across the country, the National Alliance is working to defend Black communities from going back to the Jim Crow era. We will not allow this racist system to silence Black voices, to ignore Black communities, or to take Black lives.” As an organization that fights for community control of the police, Ishwar went on, the New York Alliance recognizes that the right to vote is fundamental to Black people’s ability to control how their communities are run.

The New York Alliance also invited community members to join an upcoming protest on Thursday, June 25, to commemorate Eudes Pierre’s 31st birthday and continue demanding justice for his family. The protest will be held at the 71st Precinct, which responded to Eudes’ call back in 2021, and where one of the officers who killed him still works. The New York Alliance are demanding that both of the officers who killed Eudes be fired and prosecuted for murder.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #NAARPR #InjusticeSystem #Juneteenth #EudesPierre

New York, NY – On June 4, New Yorkers protested outside of the annual New York City Police Foundation Gala at the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan, where billionaires representing some of the top financial, tech and political dynasties in New York City gathered to donate millions of dollars to the New York Police Department.

The crowd of 75 protesters, led by the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR), shamed each gala attendee as they arrived, chanting “Blood on your hands!”

The New York City Police Foundation is a 501©(3) non-profit which funnels millions of dollars each year into the already bloated NYPD budget. The money goes to programs which surveil communities, pilot new technologies, and extend the reach of the NYPD.

For example, one of the foundation’s principal programs is the International Liaison program, which establishes NYPD offices in cities across the world, including in Tel Aviv. Additionally, donors who attend the gala tend to get massive contracts with the NYPD These include companies like surveillance giant Palantir, and Motorola, the company supplying cops with their radios. Both have made huge contributions at the gala which have turned into major contracts with the NYPD.

The protesters assembled outside of the gala to demand a public police force that does not function like a private piggy bank for billionaires, but that is accountable to the people of New York City. At the protest, NYAARPR demanded: No funding for killer cops; community control, not billionaire control; and justice for Eudes Pierre and all victims of police violence.

Speakers at the rally included representatives of NYU Students for a Democratic Society, Brooklyn Against War, Adolfina, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Coalition for Justice for Eudes Pierre.

Sheina Banatte, cousin of Eudes Pierre, who was killed by the NYPD in December 2021, said, “The money being wasted to fund racism and corruption here at this gala can best be spent in the community places and spaces that can truly benefit people, families, community and quality of life.” She continued, “We will keep fighting for community control of the police, justice for Eudes Pierre, and justice for all stolen lives.”

After the program concluded, protesters tore open several pig head effigies, scattering red paint splattered money in the street to symbolize the blood money raised at the gala. The protest then marched through the streets of Manhattan chanting, “NYPD kills on patrol! How do we stop them? Community control!”

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #InjusticeSystem #NYPD #PeoplesStruggles

Brooklyn, NY – on the evening of June 3, around two dozen New Yorkers gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to stand in solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela and against the ongoing aggression from the United States.

The Trump administration has charged Raul Castro, the former president of Cuba, with murder in connection to the downing of civilian planes in 1996. These charges are bogus. They are an escalation of the U.S. attacks on Latin America that began last year when the Trump administration set its eyes on Venezuela.

The day also marked the fifth month since President Maduro and First Lady Flores were kidnapped from their home. The Trump administration launched a bombing operation on Venezuela on January 3 where close to 100 people were killed, including 32 Cuban bodyguards.

The action had a high energy and there were many organizations in attendance, such as Black Alliance for Peace, Bronx Antiwar, Palavar Collective, and Brooklyn Against War.

Joe Lombard from the United National Antiwar Coalition gave a speech discussing the importance of solidarity and standing up to U.S. imperialism.

Katrina Kozarek from Brooklyn Against War stated, “We will continue to resist systems of oppression here in the U.S. and to do so, we must also reject and stand up against U.S. oppression and complicity against the peoples of the Caribbean, South America, Palestine, Iran and everywhere. We demand an end to all U.S. sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela now! Free President Maduro and Cilia Flores – we demand they be returned safe and sound to their homeland!”

The organizers will return to the courthouse for President Maduro and First Lady Flores’ hearing on June 30.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Cuba #Venezuela #AntiWarMovement #PeoplesStruggles

New York, NY – On Wednesday, May 6, the Movement of Rank and File Educators gathered for general assembly in Midtown Manhattan. More than 40 classroom teachers from across the city met to discuss the presence of NYPD in schools and the police’s role in oppressing the student body of New York and intimidating teachers and staff in schools. The group was joined by the Dignity in Schools organization, which is against scanners and police in schools.

The meeting began with a teach-in on the history of policing in schools in NYC, which first began in the 1970s after the United Federation of Teachers made a mistake by striking against Black and Puerto Rican parents who wanted to exercise control over their children’s schools, known as the Oceanhill – Brownesville strike. The UFT, led by Albert Shanker, made an historic mistake by pitting the rights of white teachers to a job against the rights of Black and brown parents to decide who taught their children, instead of uniting the struggles together against a common enemy.

The assembly moved on to discuss the way language in the UFT contract about students “disruptive behavior” has been used by teachers to have students removed from their classes. This practice disproportionately affects Black and brown students today.

They also talked about how the NYPD imposes expensive scanners for students onto certain schools, and obscures data about where these scanners are located in the city. It can be assumed that most scanners are placed in majority Black and brown schools. Some students in the NYC public school system are required to go through metal detectors and scanners operated by cops and are treated as possible suspects when they get to school.

The frequent delays at scanning make students late to school and makes it more difficult for teachers in the classroom to teach their lessons. The group discussed how the money that goes into expensive scanners could easily be used to give teachers better working conditions, and students better learning conditions, or funneled into job positions in the school that are staffed by unions.

The teachers then broke out into groups to talk about the situations in their schools, and, with the help of a campaign toolkit, some came up with plans to get rid of racist scanning and NYPD presence in their schools through rank-and-file mobilization and engagement of the broader school community.

#NewYorkNY #NYC #NY #MORE #UFT #Labor #PoliceAccountability #Teachers

New York, NY – Filipino community organizations and their allies rallied outside of the Philippine Consulate in New York City, April 20, to call for an end to U.S. military involvement in the Philippines.

The protest marks the beginning of the month-long Balikatan joint military exercises between the United States, the Philippines, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand. The organizers included the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), Malaya Movement, and BAYAN. Speakers also included members of Anakbayan as well as Filipino residents whose families are still living in the country.

An unconscionable waste of needed fuel

In the midst of crisis-level fuel prices, criminalization of labor organizing and protest, and exorbitant military spending, these war preparations come at a steep price for the average Filipino family, and should be terminated immediately.

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has spiked fuel prices across the globe and has had a devastating effect in the Philippines. The average price for one liter of fuel currently exceeds the daily minimum wage in the country, and many Filipinos are unable to pay. Filipino workers and parents are having to skip meals and make other serious sacrifices in order to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the Marcos-Duterte regime has stockpiled enough fuel for an entire month of military drills—fuel that is desperately needed by the Filipino people.

No support for immigrant workers

Community organizers denounced Marcos’ bid to join the United Nations Security Council, as well as the UN’s decision to use the Philippines’ migrant worker policies as a model for the rest of the world. Those policies have caused severe harm to the Filipino people and should not be emulated.

Speakers denounced the ways that the Marcos-Duterte regime has turned its back on immigrant workers, including by refusing to support Filipino immigrants kidnapped by ICE and detained for months without a trial. The Philippines supplies more than 20% of the world’s seafarers, including commercial shipping workers as well as cruise workers. Right now, many of those same Filipino workers are stranded on oil tankers in or near the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Trump’s illegal war. Those workers are not being paid but are unable to return home, while their government continues to support the United States and Israel’s war.

The expansion of U.S. military presence and the campaign to kick Cerberus out of the Philippines

NYCHRP members also announced a new campaign targeting Cerberus Capital Management (CCM), a Manhattan-based private equity firm that has unjustly acquired 300 hectares of land on a former U.S. military base in Subic Bay, in the Philippines. The U.S. Navy was expelled from Subic Bay in 1991 after massive community uprisings against human rights abuses and environmental destruction by the U.S. military. Now, CCM is leasing that same land to U.S. weapons and defense contractors, and plans were recently announced to build the world’s largest munitions factory on that same land in Subic Bay, which will be the first U.S. ammunition plan in Asia.

The presence of CCM in Subic Bay has additional devastating effects on the local working-class communities: peasant communities are subject to bombings and displacement, fisherfolk are not permitted to fish during military drills, including the Balikatan exercises, and women and children living near U.S. bases are frequent victims of sex trafficking and assault.

NYCHRP and BAYAN members who visited Subic Bay in November 2025 reported: “Fisherfolk whose livelihoods depend on fishing near Subic Bay now face more and more problems with more coastal guards, maritime guards and militarization of the sea. The areas they are able to fish are now heavily restricted. There have been incidents of fishermen venturing out to get better catches and the Chinese Coast Guard is shooting water cannons at them. They can’t even pass close by to Cerberus’s complex because private security will point guns at them.”

This issue is especially pertinent for New Yorkers because the New York City Employees Retirement System and the New York State Teachers Retirement System have invested funds in Cerberus. To join NYCHRP’s campaign against Cerberus, email nychrp@protonmail.com.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #Philippines #Bayan #International #NYCHRP #AntiWarMovement

New York, NY – Organizers from the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression held a speakout outside New York City Hall on Friday, April 18, to protest the dramatic rise in police violence against Black men across the city since the beginning of April.

New York Alliance Chair Shivani Ishwar noted that, in April alone, the NYPD has shot three Black men – Lucien Colon, Carlos Santiago and Anthony Griffin – and maimed another, Timothy Brown, in a racist attack in downtown Brooklyn.

The speakout began on the corner of Center and Chamber Streets, where members of the New York Alliance handed out flyers, gave fiery speeches, and connected New Yorkers to their campaign for community control of the police.

Organizers staged their protest near a busy subway station, where they were able to take advantage of rush-hour traffic to educate the community about police violence and the struggle for community control.

“We are here today because we demand justice for Lucien Colon, Carlos Santiago and Anthony Griffin,” NYAARPR organizer Quinn Hughes. “We are here to say that we refuse these conditions. Our demands are clear. We call on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fire and arrest these officers, justice for all victims of police violence, and community control now.”

In her speech, NYAARPR organizer Ruby Doswell said there are “no excuses for the police to kill a man.”

“Police should not feel comfortable enough to kill a person in any circumstance,” Doswell said. “It’s no coincidence that Black and brown men are consistently met with violence and force instead of de-escalation, care, or support.”

Organizers likewise observed this isn't a new phenomenon. They noted that the case of Eudes Pierre, another Black man shot and killed by the police in December of 2021, follows the exact same pattern of racist violence. As organizers wrapped up the action, they affirmed their commitment to continue the struggle for community control of the police, a fight which takes on renewed urgency under the recent wave of NYPD violence.

#NewYorkNY #NY #NYC #NYAARPR #NAARPR #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #KillerCop #EudesPierre