On the 4th local time, protests against the US airstrike on Venezuela took place in Madrid, Spain. After the sudden ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US military operations, protests condemning US intervention erupted worldwide.
According to Reuters, AFP news agencies, and CNN, simultaneous protests emerged in regions across Europe, Latin America, and Asia after the news broke on the 3rd about the US airstrikes and special operations that led to Maduro’s capture and extradition to the United States.
Massive rallies occurred particularly in Madrid and Barcelona. In Madrid, Eugenia Contreras, a Venezuelan expatriate attending the protest outside the US Embassy, stated, “The US attack is a crime against my country. Intervention against people who have territory and sovereignty is an act of aggression.”
Spain hosts a significant Venezuelan immigrant population, and Edmundo Gonzalez, who ran as an opposition candidate in Venezuela’s last election, currently resides there in exile. Protests also continued in other Latin American countries.
In Havana, Cuba, tens of thousands took to the streets, denouncing the US military operation as an “imperialistic invasion.” In Bogotá, Colombia, large gatherings were also held. Martha Elena Huertas, a participant, declared, “As a Latin American woman, I want to firmly reject the criminal, murderous, colonial invasion.”
In New Delhi, India, leftist parties and civil groups organized a solidarity gathering with Venezuela, while demonstrators in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey, unfurled banners demanding, “US hands off Venezuela,” as they condemned “imperialism.”
The US also saw rising dissent. According to The Guardian, over the weekend, major US cities like Chicago, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Seattle witnessed protests against the Trump administration’s military involvement.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, urged supporters to protest in the streets through a voice message on social media. He stated, “They want us to appear weak, but we will not,” and implied that there might have been internal betrayal during his father’s capture by saying, “History will reveal who the traitors were.”
Maduro Guerra is Maduro’s only biological son and a current member of the National Assembly. He, along with his father and stepmother, the First Lady Cilia Flores, has been indicted by US authorities on charges related to “narco-terrorism.”