New Orleans, LA – On October 3, over 200 students and youth rallied for Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores at the New Orleans Healing Center. The protest called by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) condemned the horrific treatment of Cilia Flores, who is currently experiencing a life-threatening heart condition. New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), an AWAN affiliate, organized the demonstration alongside Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
“When I met farm workers, indigenous organizers, and trade unionists in Venezuela, all of them denounced the Yankee imperialist attacks on their sovereignty!” cried Ebtesham Ahmed, a member of New York University SDS. Ahmed visited Venezuela mere weeks before the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores. They lifted their fist to the crowd, sharing a chant they learned in Venezuela: “¡Yo solo sé tres palabras en inglés, Yankee go home!”
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.
New Orleans, LA – Hundreds of student activists from across the country will arrive in New Orleans this Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, for the 20th National Convention of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). October 3 will also mark nine months since the United States shamefully invaded and attacked Venezuela, kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), a partner of the national Anti-War Action Network, has led the local struggle against intervention in Venezuela. The intervention has accomplished nothing but more suffering. In particular, the June 24 earthquakes near the capital city of Caracas killed over 6000 people and injured nearly a quarter million more.
New York, NY—On September 9, a motion was filed for Venezuela’s First Lady Cilia Flores, petitioning for her release from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), and for her to be instead placed under house arrest in New York City, due to the severity of her heart condition.
After she and President Nicolás Maduro were illegally kidnapped by the U.S. in January of this year, her health has rapidly deteriorated throughout her imprisonment.
New York, NY – 50 activists gathered outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Thursday, September 3, to protest the ongoing detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Attendees represented a broad coalition of New York organizations fighting against U.S. Intervention in Venezuela, including Brooklyn Against War, Workers World Party, Black Alliance for Peace, Venceremos Brigade, and the Venezuela Solidarity Network.
Attendees held signs demanding freedom for the kidnapped Venezuelan president and first lady and joined in chants like “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!” and “We will say it every time! U.S. sanctions are a crime!”
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.
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.
Brooklyn, NY – On the early evening of April 3, a dozen people gathered outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center to observe Good Friday. The vigil was called by Black Alliance for Peace on what is also the three-month anniversary of President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores’ kidnapping.
