Miami, FL – In the wake of the ICE murders of Keith Porter, Jr., Renee Nicole Good,and Alex Pretti, protesters in Miami gathered at Torch of Friendship calling for an end to ICE terror. Dozens gathered in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and demand that ICE get out of their own community, with slogans such as “In the Miami heat ICE will melt.”

Local activist Arianna Betancourt spoke about her personal experience with her father being detained by ICE during a routine check-in. Since October 2025, her father has been imprisoned in the Everglades concentration camp, “Alligator Alcatraz.” During her speech at the rally, Betancourt called on the Miami community to rise up in the face of ICE terror, saying, “Let's stand together and make a change, because there are more of us than there are of them!”

Early in the day, students and members of the student-led coalition, ICEBreakers FIU, at Florida International University staged a sit-in calling for an end to the university's partnership with ICE through the 287(g) agreement.

Carlton Daley, co-chair of Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) FIU and an organizer of the demonstration stated, “In protest of FIU's continual escalation of ICE presence on campus and in solidarity with Minneapolis, YDSAFIU and ICEBreakers, a coalition of political organizations designed to combat ICE, mobilized roughly 150 attendees to a peaceful demonstration of resistance. If FIU continues their relentless assaults against its working class students and faculty, we will continue to galvanize the masses against their oppression.”

In June of 2025, the city of Miami voted to sign on to the 287(g) agreement that allows local police to act as immigration agents, despite massive public outcry. As of late 2025, there have been more than 10,000 kidnappings by ICE in collaboration with local and state law enforcement, in what Governor Ron DeSantis calls “Operation Tidal Wave.”

Still, the resounding call from Miami, a city where more than 60% of the residents are immigrants, is “ICE out now!

#MiamiFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #KillerICE

Miami, FL – The Miccosukee Tribe and Friends of the Everglades won their lawsuit to shut down the detention camp known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” as ruled by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Thursday, August 21. The lawsuit was filed on June 27, and Judge Williams ordered a temporary stop to the construction on the site two weeks ago. Now, the state has 60 days to move the detainees and dismantle what’s been constructed so far.

The lawsuit was brought to the courts on the grounds of environmental damage caused by the facility to the fragile Everglades ecosystem. Twenty acres of land have been paved over with asphalt for the facility’s operations.

This decision comes just days after another U.S. District Judge, Rodolfo Ruiz, dismissed some of the complaints raised by people detained at so-called Alligator Alcatraz. Detainees alleged that they were unable to speak privately with their legal counsel or file legal documents to argue against their detention. Judge Ruiz dismissed the latter and said that another district court will proceed with the former.

Before the facility was operational, Miccosukee Tribal Elder Betty Osceola called for a protest on June 22. Hundreds of protesters were out in the Everglades by the future site of the concentration camp demanding that the construction stop and operations do not begin. Although the facility eventually opened, the Friends of the Everglades initiated the lawsuit that shut down the camp, with the Miccosukee Tribe joining the suit as a plaintiff.

The state of Florida filed an appeal and is attempting to find a way to resume its construction.

“We won’t back down,” said Claudia Rodriguez of the South Florida Anti-War Committee. “Hundreds of us came out in one of the worst heat waves of the year, standing under rain and shine, withstanding mosquitoes and humidity because we won’t be silent in the face of the Trump administration targeting our immigrant communities, dispossessing our indigenous neighbors, and destroying our environment.”

#MiamiFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #Environment #Trump #IndigneousPeoples #ChicanoLatino #AligatorAlcatraz

Pompano Beach, FL – On Saturday, March 2, over 200 cars traced a route across South Florida maintaining minimum legal speeds on interstates and along busy beachfront roads to protest U.S. support for Israel.

The caravan was launched in remembrance of the over 30,000 Palestinians who have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. In honor of the martyrs, dozens of cars carried posters with the pictures and personal information of individual Palestinians murdered by Israel.

The caravan was led and tailed by video trucks displaying the truth of Israel’s crimes and had several cars with speakers on megaphones making educational and political speeches were distributed throughout. Participants distributed flyers with information about the history of Palestine and its occupation by the Zionists.

The hundreds of vehicles brought traffic to a crawl and drew cheering crowds at two intersections. Shouts of “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide” were heard from both the demonstrators’ speakers and from beachgoers. Many vehicles were adorned with decorations that were prepared during the two hours it took for the drivers to gather. These included flags, posters and painted messages that read “30,000 killed by Israel,” “End all aid to Israel” and “Victory to Palestine.”

Efforts by police and Zionists to harass the demonstration failed to prevent the vehicles from completing the entire planned route despite multiple citations and a Zionist motorcyclist who broke a side-view mirror.

At the conclusion, organizers said that this rally was double the size of the first rally a month before and made calls for the new participants to join in the planning of a third car rally for Palestine in South Florida.

Many organizations contributed to the event such as South-Florida Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Palestine Car Rally, Al-Awda, Jewish Voices for Peace of South Florida, Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida International University, Democratic Socialists of America, and Jose Marti Youth.

#PompanoBeachFL #MiamiFL #FtLauderdaleFL #BocaRatonFL #SouthFlorida #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #FRSO #JVP #AlAwda #SJP #DSA #JMY

Miami FL – On February 11, over 60 people gathered at the Torch of Freedom in Miami during the Miami Heat basketball game to protest a bill up for a vote in the U.S. Senate that would send more than $14 billion to aid in Israel’s genocidal occupation of Palestine.

Laid at the feet of demonstrators were dozens of white cloth bundles, stained red to symbolize the infants killed by the IDF bombing of Gaza. Chants of “From Florida to Palestine, stop the U.S. war machine” and “Money for jobs and education not for war and occupation” rang out to the beat of drums drawing honks, photographs, live streams and support from passersby. Activists distributed informational pamphlets to those exiting the Sunday game and succeeded in distributing every copy they brought.

A speaker gave the reason for the genocide and the necessity of staying the streets, stating, “The genocide in Gaza, why? Because they are trying to resist, they are trying to live!” and quoted Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, “We also deserve to live and we love life,” and for that reason the activist said, “We need to stop this genocide and will not be quite until justice is served!”

Despite slowly escalating police presence, the rally concluded without arrests.

Organizations endorsing the rally of the rally included Freedom Road Socialist Organization in SoFlo, The People for Palestine, Food Not Bombs FtL, SoFlo Antifa, Code Pink SoFlo, Black Rose Miami, Palestine Car Rally, Trans Asylum Seeker Support Network, Samidoun Network, Broward County Democratic Socialist of America, and the SoFlo Working Group to Shut Down Elbit.

#MiamiFL #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #FRSO #Samidoun #CodePink #DSA

Miami, FL – Alex Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat, is now free after long negotiations between Venezuela’s government and the U.S. State Department. Saab flew back to Venezuela on Wednesday, December 20 into the waiting arms of his wife, Camilla Fabri Saab. He will be able to hug his children after more than three years of detention and imprisonment by the U.S. government.

It will be a hero’s welcome for Alex Saab when President Nicolás Maduro greets him at Miraflores Palace for all the country to celebrate his strength and determination. Saab is a man who humbly served the people of Venezuela by negotiating with Iran and other countries for food and medicine, as well as technologies for the oil industry to be rebuilt. Due to U.S.-imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan economy, President Nicolas Maduro enlisted Saab to barter oil and gold to defeat the U.S.-imposed economic crisis.

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are currently crumbling as the White House needs Venezuelan oil for its European allies. The U.S. created its own crisis however, through the funding and arming of the war in Ukraine and now the Israeli genocide in Palestine, angering the world.

Venezuela wants its economy to meet the needs of its people instead of just making profits for banks and companies on Wall Street or in the city of London. The U.S. goal since President Hugo Chavez first launched the Bolivarian Revolution in 1999 has been to strangle all progress. The Bolivarian Revolution has created productive farms to feed people instead of importing 80% of food, built 4 million new apartments and small houses with running water and electricity, provided public education through high school, 13 new public universities, basic health care for all, and new productive industries other than oil extraction.

In fact, Alex Saab is largely responsible for the failure of U.S. economic sanctions targeting Venezuela and the U.S. was out to punish him. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency tried to recruit him to do their dirty work, but he would not bend. So, the U.S. illegally seized Saab in June 2020 from an airplane in Cape Verde off the coast of Africa. U.S. officials rifled through his diplomatic pouch and belongings while local police detained and imprisoned him.

The U.S. government then renditioned Saab to Miami in October 2021, because the newly-elected President of Cape Verde promised to free him. Ever since, Saab sat in a federal holding cell, appearing at a Miami court hearing beginning December 12, 2022, where the U.S. judge bowed to U.S. State Department and White House demands, ignoring the law and mountains of evidence showing Saab was a special envoy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

News sources are reporting that Venezuela will release some Americans, including two former Green Berets and mercenaries who attempted a failed invasion of Venezuela. They were backed by Miami-based companies when Donald Trump was president. The mercenaries were swiftly captured in their boats, disarmed by local Bolivarian militias, and handed over to authorities.

Besides negotiations for oil and prisoners, the U.S. is also attempting to impose their chosen candidate for president on Venezuela, despite that person being disqualified for breaking election laws.

Tom Burke of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “This is a great day for Alex Saab, for Camilla and her children, and for the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela! It shows that international solidarity is powerful!”

#MiamiFL #International #Venezuela #AlexSaab #Sanctions #FRSO #Feature

In his ruling, Judge Scola wrote, “Saab Moran cannot be entitled to diplomatic immunity because he could not – as a matter of law – have been an agent of the Venezuelan government. At the time of his arrest, Saab Moran was, at best, a special envoy of the Maduro regime, which the United States has not recognized to be the official government of Venezuela since January 2019. So, Saab Moran is not entitled to diplomatic immunity in the United States.”

Tom Burke with the Campaign to Free Alex Saab said, “It is clear the White House and State Department are criminalizing the Venezuelan diplomat responsible for defeating U.S. sanctions. Alex Saab made big trade deals that brought food, medicine, oil industry machine parts, and other materials to Venezuela in exchange for oil and gold. Saab defeated every U.S. effort to strangle the Venezuelan economy. Saab helped to advance the Bolivarian revolution, benefiting all the working people and their children, and U.S. leaders aren't happy about that.”

Cassia Laham, a Miami anti-war activist, said, “The U.S. government’s legal arguments were weak and pathetic. In any other court, in any other country, Alex Saab would have walked free. The judge's ruling proved the political nature of this case and of Saab's kidnapping. The U.S. deems Venezuela a ‘national security threat’ simply because it takes care of its own people without bowing to the dictates of U.S. imperialism. And this can only be done with the help of heroes like Alex Saab.”

In June of 2020, the U.S. government blocked Alex Saab’s plane, which was in route to Iran, forcing it to land in Cape Verde. Saab was on his way to Iran on behalf of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to secure resources and humanitarian goods for the people of Venezuela. Then it asked Cape Verde's government to arrest Saab and detain him. The next day an Interpol arrest warrant suddenly appeared. U.S. intelligence agents rifled through Saab’s belongings and opened his Venezuelan government diplomatic pouch and sealed documents, an outrage to diplomats everywhere.

Then, in October 2021, the U.S. renditioned Saab to Miami, Florida despite there being no extradition treaty between the United States and Cape Verde. This occurred one day before an election in Cape Verde where the leading candidate promised to release Saab if elected.

Since then, Saab's defense team has tried challenge this illegal farce by proving his status as a diplomat. All indications are that Judge Scola’s ruling was a foregone conclusion discussed at the highest levels of the Biden White House and Antony Blinken's State Department.

 There will be an appeal from Alex Saab’s defense team, including the thorough fact-based defense arguments of Jonathan New. This, though, will force Alex Saab to sit in a Miami prison cell for many weeks, perhaps months longer than the 900 days the U.S. has already detained him.

Laham said, “Alex Saab is being punished by the U.S. empire because he was successful at beating U.S. sanctions. He is one of many political prisoners being held in U.S. prisons and we know he will not find justice inside a U.S. courtroom.”

#MiamiFL #Venezuela #PoliticalPrisoners #sanctions #AlexSaab #BolivarianRepublicOfVenezuela #Americas

Miami, FL- Nearly 30 international solidarity, peace and justice activists packed into a crowded courtroom at the Wilke Ferguson Federal Courthouse in downtown Miami on the morning of Monday, December 12 to show support for kidnapped Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. The special hearing before federal judge Robert Scola, Jr. was on a motion by Saab’s defense team to dismiss the charges against him because he is an official diplomat of the Venezuelan government and should therefore be immune from any prosecution in the United States.

Alex Saab was illegally imprisoned on the island Republic of Cabo Verde, at the directive of the United States on June 12, 2020, for “conspiracy to commit money laundering.” It is an entirely fabricated charge but one that is often used by the United States against those who it views as political opponents. The action was taken in secret, without notifying his defense team and without any necessary or relevant documentation. Alex Saab was then illegally renditioned to the United States from Cabo Verde [also known as Cape Verde] – which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States – on October 16, 2021.

In Miami, local activists were joined by supporters from across the state and country, and even from as far away as Tunisia. They gathered at 8 a.m. outside of the federal courthouse with signs and a banner that read, “Free Alex Saab! Venezuelan diplomat: Kidnapped by the empire.”

At 9 a.m. the activists made their way into the courtroom to witness the hearing. Sitting behind the defense bench, they watched as Alex Saab entered the room a moment later, escorted by federal marshals. He was in a light-brown prisoner uniform, with shackles around his waist and feet, all connected to the handcuffs around his wrists. He wore navy blue Adidas sandals with white socks, his hair was tied in a bun, revealing a tattoo on his neck with his wife’s name: Camila. He seemed in good health and good spirits and conversed with his lawyers.

The defense began its case with the first of three witnesses, and myriad official documents from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Bolivarian Republican of Venezuela, and even documents from former U.S. government officials – all of which should prove Saab’s status as a special envoy to Iran for the Venezuelan government since 2018.

One of his defense attorneys, Jonathan New, began opening arguments by putting Saab’s 2020 arrest into context.

“Venezuela was trying to overcome years of crippling economic sanctions placed upon it by the United States,” New said. “It was under these circumstances that President Nicolas Maduro appointed Alex Saab as a special envoy to undertake missions to Iran to access secure food, medicine and fuel for Venezuela.”

He explained how the U.S. sanctions, coupled with the global economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, made Saab’s job securing humanitarian goods for the people of Venezuela even more important. He added that Saab traveled multiple times to Iran, “at great personal risk to Mr. Saab given that we were at the height of the COVID pandemic and nowhere close to having vaccines ready.”

The defense showed that the United States knew about these diplomatic trips, and in fact reported on them in various news outlets. As a special envoy, Saab had successfully negotiated with the Iranian government multiple times and secured oil tankers, medical supplies and food from Iran to Venezuela.

“This did not sit well with the United States, as Saab was actively working to reduce the effects of U.S. sanctions,” said attorney New.

The defense went on to say that the issue before the court is simply to decide whether Alex Saab was a special envoy for Venezuela when he was arrested in Cape Verde. If so, the court must dismiss U.S. government’s phony conspiracy charges against him and set him free. As attorney New noted: “If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Mr. Saab was and is a special envoy.”

Meanwhile the strategy by the prosecution, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Kramer, was less clear. On the one hand, Kramer stated the prosecution will attempt to prove that the legal documents from Venezuela pertaining to Saab’s diplomatic status were somehow forged or falsified; on the other hand, he said the prosecution will also argue that Saab had a “different” type of diplomatic status that does not fall under the Vienna Convention’s diplomatic immunity agreement. It seemed like the government is grasping at straws with these two wildly disparate arguments.

The hearing will continue through the week. More updates from Miami to come.

#MiamiFL #Venezuela #AlexSaab #BolivarianRepublicOfVenezuela #Americas

Miami, FL – An important hearing takes place on Monday, December 12 in the case of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. With solidarity activists planning to protest outside the Federal Court building in Miami chanting, “Free Alex Saab,” inside a judge will hear arguments from Saab’s defense that should force him to be set free.

Saab’s defense will assert his status as a Special Envoy to the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. As a special envoy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, he is immune to prosecution by the U.S. government.

“The U.S. is singling out Alex Saab for punishment because he is key to bypassing the illegal U.S. sanctions placed upon Venezuela,” says Cassia Laham of the Free Alex Saab Committee. “This kidnapping of a diplomat comes after multiple illegal attempts by the United States at coup d’états and regime change against the Venezuelan government.”

All the U.S. maneuvers against Venezuela have failed so far. In 2002, popularly elected President Hugo Chavez reversed the U.S. backed coup. Later that year, Chavez defeated a management lockout of the oil industry by firing 18,000 managers and bosses. The current president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, defeated another U.S. backed coup on April 30, 2019. Then in 2020 Maduro foiled a U.S. mercenary-led invasion force who were captured by people’s militias before they even hit the beach.

“Alex Saab has done nothing wrong. He certainly does not belong in a U.S. jail,” said Tom Burke, with the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. “He’s a special envoy who made trade deals for food, medicine, technology, and other things that benefit the Venezuelan people. It is U.S. sanctions that need to be on trial. U.S. sanctions are illegal, an act of war.”

Alex Saab was illegally imprisoned in the Republic of Cabo Verde at the directive of the United States on June 12, 2020. Then he was illegally renditioned to Miami from Cabo Verde, despite there being no extradition treaty, on October 16, 2021.

Under the Vienna Convention, a credentialed diplomat such as Saab has absolute immunity from arrest, even in a time of war. Saab has also appealed to the US 11th Circuit Court based on his diplomatic status.

Laham says, “It is now over 900 days since Alex Saab was first jailed by the United States. The U.S. is now negotiating for Venezuelan oil and needs to end the sanctions, war, and aggression against Venezuela. They need to respect Venezuela and reestablish normal ties.”

Burke and Laham will join other solidarity activists and rally to “Free Alex Saab!” on Monday, December 12 at 8 a.m., Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 400 N Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida.

There is also a protest to “Free Alex Saab!” in New York City at the United Nations, 46th Street and First Avenue, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, December 9.

Then a large Milwaukee coalition hosts a Human Rights Day program at 4 p.m., Saturday December 10, at 2319 East Kenwood Boulevard that includes the movie, Alex Saab: A Kidnapped Diplomat.

As well, there will be a Detroit protest demanding “Free Alex Saab!” at the Rosa Parks Federal Building in at 6 p.m., 333 Mount Elliott Street, on Monday, December 12.

#MiamiFL #Venezuela #HandsOffVenezuela #AlexSaab #BolivarianRepublicOfVenezuela #Americas