Local peace activists gather in front of the USS Iowa with the message, “US Hands Off Venezuela. No to Trump’s militarization of the Caribbean and no to over 20 years of US Cold War lies and slander against Venezuela.”
“Hands off Venezuela” Protest on Harbor Blvd. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala.
The demonstration is in response to the Trump Administration’s attempt to use drug trafficking by cartels as a pretext to weaken Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has intervened in Venezuelan politics by supporting coups (2002), backing opposition figures (2019–present), and allegedly facilitating covert operations (like Operation Gideon).