New Orleans, LA – On October 3, over 200 students and youth rallied for Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores at the New Orleans Healing Center. The protest called by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) condemned the horrific treatment of Cilia Flores, who is currently experiencing a life-threatening heart condition. New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), an AWAN affiliate, organized the demonstration alongside Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
“When I met farm workers, indigenous organizers, and trade unionists in Venezuela, all of them denounced the Yankee imperialist attacks on their sovereignty!” cried Ebtesham Ahmed, a member of New York University SDS. Ahmed visited Venezuela mere weeks before the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores. He lifted his fist to the crowd, sharing a chant he learned in Venezuela: “¡Yo solo sé tres palabras en inglés, Yankee go home!”
Protesters held signs that read “Free First Lady Cilia Flores!” and “Stop U.S. war on Venezuela!”
Maduro and Flores have been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York for over 200 days. Their capture on January 3 resulted in the death of 100 people in Venezuela. During their imprisonment, the United States has maintained suffocating sanctions on the country.
Trump has openly bragged that taking Venezuela’s resources and labor will bolster the U.S. economy, but student activists rejected this exploitation. “My enemy is not the people of the world, they’re our allies. I stand with the people of Venezuela as they stand with us, against our true enemy, Donald Trump and the ruling class of the United States,” shouted Khalid Hamu, National SDS secretary.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Chris Maldonado connected the struggle to his family’s fight against sanctions in Cuba, stating, “Whether it’s my country or Venezuela, it is important that we don’t sit idly by while the U.S. monopoly capitalists plot to murder revolutionaries, strangle sovereign countries, and profit off of exploitation. We must stand up and fight back!”
As the rally ended, NOSHIP organizers made sure to give everyone in attendance a call to action for Maduro and Flores. “The Anti-War Action Network will be at every single court hearing that they have, demanding their freedom and an end to the attacks on Venezuelan sovereignty. We ask that you join us in signing our petition, and rally in your city every time AWAN calls a day of action,” said NOSHIP member Cristine Farah.
People interested in supporting Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores can sign AWAN’s petition at <tinyurl.com/awanfreemaduro> and follow their Instagram @antiwaractionnetwork for days of action in solidarity with Venezuela.
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