Hundreds gathered to protest in downtown Chicago Saturday evening after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation.
Around 5 p.m., protesters gathered in the bitter cold at Federal Plaza near West Adams Street and South Dearborn Street in Chicago’s Loop.
The protest started just hours Maduro and his wife arrived in New York, where they will face prosecution for their alleged role in narco-terrorism conspiracy after they were captured by U.S. military forces overnight.
Protesters told NBC Chicago the Trump administration’s military action is “risky to American lives” and many demanded an end to the bombing campaign in the Caribbean.
Others called the military operation “illegal,” and some drew comparisons to the Iraq war.
Many protesters held signs reading “No Blood For Oil” and “No U.S. War on Venezuela.” Others held up newspapers with a full-page spread reading “Hands off Venezuela.”
After the operation, Trump said U.S. will “run” Venezuela at least temporarily and that U.S. oil companies were prepared to make large investments in the country.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country,” Trump said in a public address.
Several organizations co-sponsored the event advertised as a “NO WAR ON VENEZUELA” emergency protest, including the Anti-War Committee, the Black Alliance for Peace, Chicago Area Peace Action, Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Illinois Green Party, among others.
The operation in Caracas left several U.S. troops injured, though all remain in stable condition, according to one U.S. official and one White House official.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Maduro’s capture “violates international law and dangerously escalates the possibility of full-scale war,” in a statement Saturday.
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