Protests Erupt in NYC, Philadelphia Over Maduro Capture
Protests erupted in cities including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York after news broke that the United States had captured Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Video sequence job to and “No blood for oil”.
According to ABC7NY, “a group of people demonstrated in Times Square” against Maduro’s capture. Protesters said Maduro’s capture was not “about drug trafficking or democracy” but was “about stealing oil and dominating Latin America.”
The outlet also noted that while some Venezuelans celebrated Maduro’s capture, others expressed concern for their family members still in Venezuela.
One person, Marilla Moreira, who “fled Venezuela almost 30 years ago during the Chávez era,” said she was “so happy,” while Kenia Fernandez, who moved to the city “a year and a half ago,” revealed that her mother was “scared.”
“She told me not to send her videos or anything in Venezuela because she is afraid they will intercept her phone or her social media,” Fernandez told the outlet.
In Philadelphia, “more than 100 people” reportedly “marched from Philadelphia City Hall to the U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Center on Spring Garden Street,” calling on Congress “to take back its power,” according to WHYY.org.
Protesters in the city held signs with the words “No war on Venezuela” and “End American imperialism,” according to the media outlet.
One person, David Gibson, one of the protest organizers, said Congress is “supposed to represent the people,” adding that citizens are supposed to be “the ones who are supposed to decide whether or not to go to war.”
Another organizer, described as “a Venezuelan American and Philadelphia resident,” said protesters were gathered because they “agree that Venezuela should have sovereignty.”
“We are all here because we agree that Venezuela should have sovereignty,” the man said. “We are here because we believe that Venezuela must be freed from US imperial aggression and violence.”
The protests come after President Donald Trump announced Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been “captured and removed from the country.”
“The United States of America successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who was, along with his wife, captured and expelled from the country,” Trump said in an article on Truth Social. “This operation was carried out in collaboration with US law enforcement. Details will follow. There will be a press conference today at 11 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro and his wife were “indicted in the Southern District of New York.”
“Nicolas Maduro was charged with narcoterrorist conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States,” Bondi said.
