Denver demands an end to U.S. meddling in Venezuela in wake of military operations

Denver, CO – On January 3, around 200 people gathered at the Colorado State Capitol building to protest attacks on Venezuela by the United States. In the dark of the night, Caracas was hit with a barrage of aerial strikes that claimed the lives of an unknown number of Venezuelan citizens, while U.S. armed forces kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), the main organizer of the event, spoke out against Trump’s open declaration of war against Venezuela.

“I’m so glad to see so many people were ready. You woke up this morning, saw the news, and knew you had to act. That’s what we need!” said Julia Swezy of DAWA. “We need people power; we need boots on the ground.”

Rally attendees held banners and signs with messages such as “Stop the U.S. war on Venezuela,” “No wars, stop the bombs,” “We want peace,” and “Free President Maduro.” Swezy led the crowd in a series of chants, such as, “We will say it every time, U.S sanctions are a crime!” before passing the microphone to activists of various local organizations like Students for a Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the US Palestinian Community Network.

After several speeches, protesters marched through downtown, from the capitol building to the office of Senator Michael Bennet. Outside of Bennet’s office, the rally continued with speakers demanding that the United States stop its illegal occupation and release Maduro, while shaming the complicit politicians like Governor Jared Polis for refusing to condemn the attack on Venezuela.

“The United States bombed a sovereign nation; we don’t know how much destruction there was, we don’t know how many people were killed, but we do know that the United States has kidnapped the democratically elected, popular president of Venezuela,” said Shaine Carroll-Frey of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Among the speakers was Jeanette Vizguerra, a local activist who just last month was released from ICE custody after nine months of a sustained campaign to free her from ICE detention.

“In this moment, this imperialist president tried to take control of Venezuela,” said Vizguerra, “These countries have many resources: oil, petroleum, gas; this is the real [reason] that this country invaded Venezuela.” Vizguerra continued, “Everybody needs to wake up and open their eyes. Everybody needs to fight together. This fight is for everybody, this fight is for community. Everybody needs to work together!”

After Vizguerra’s speech, the crowd marched back to the capitol.

Organizers ended the event with a call to get organized. “We must keep mobilizing, the price of failure is too high,” said Eliot Howe of DAWA, “Continue to show up, organize, and get loud. Join an organization here today, attend the meetings weekly, and get out to more actions – our collective liberation depends on it.”

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