Brooklyn, NY – On Saturday, June 6, community members and activists with Brooklyn Against War [BAW] gathered at the Bedford Library for a panel and discussion regarding their ongoing campaign to free Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. Titled “What is Happening in Venezuela?”, the panel featured guest speaker Steve Ellner, an author, historian and political scientist who taught at the Universidad de Oriente for 26 years.

Ellner stated, “The Chavista movement is solidly behind Delcy Rodríguez. Washington, and Trump in particular, has made no secret of what could happen to the Rodríguez government if [she] were to put up major resistance to the demands that the Trump administration is making.”

These comments from Ellner were made in response to criticisms of the acting president from members of the international left, who incorrectly condemn Rodriguez, rather than the imperialist aggression of the United States.

A member of BAW stated, “President Maduro is right now being held in our backyard at MDC. We are paying taxes, high taxes, and we don’t see them returning to our communities. There have been billions of dollars in war, and they are still using our tax dollars to bomb the country and try to control the oil.”

The Metropolitan Detention Center sits in the heart of Sunset Park, where it holds not only political prisoners President Maduro and Cilia Flores, but also nearly 200 ICE detainees.

BAW members also shared a petition to drop the charges, and spoke about their plans to mobilize to the federal courthouse on June 30, the next hearing date for Maduro and Flores.

Ellner’s portion of the panel is available on YouTube at BrooklynAgainstWar.

#BrooklynNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #International #BAW

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