{"id":140105,"date":"2026-01-19T14:37:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/140105\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T14:37:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:37:23","slug":"fresno-picketers-stand-against-u-s-action-in-venezuela-the-collegian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/140105\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno picketers stand against U.S. action in Venezuela \u2013 The Collegian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roughly 120 protesters stood on the northeast corner of Blackstone and Shields avenues holding picket signs and waving flags<\/a> as they called for an end to U.S. intervention in Venezuela on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are making it seem like they are saving these countries from themselves, but it\u2019s always been to the convenience and benefit of the United States,\u201d said Stan Santos, a member of Raza Against War.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The demonstration was coordinated by several organizations, including Peace Fresno, Raza Against War, Women\u2019s International League for Peace and Freedom, Veterans for Peace Chapter 180, Kings Canyon Indivisible, Fresno Center for Nonviolence and Back From The Bink.<\/p>\n

The organizations were united by their concerns about the increased involvement of the Trump administration in using military violence to seize resources of otherwise impoverished and developing nations, according to the Raza Against War<\/a> Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually here with my friends; they invited me,\u201d said protester Ethan Gonzales. \u201cI didn\u2019t know this was happening until the day before. I just came with my friends to support. [Protesting] doesn\u2019t cost much, just do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santos said that many protesters saw the actions taken in Venezuela not only as a distraction from domestic issues, but also to set a warning for what could come next to many other countries in the Americas, including Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua and even Mexico.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the protest, several people gave speeches through a microphone, delivering their message to anyone passing by the intersection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of those who attended the protest had encouraging words for people who did not attend themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santos said that while there is no support for an American boots-on-the-ground occupation of Venezuela, the government could continue to take action in other ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat won\u2019t stop them from doing what\u2019s already been done to Gaza, and to a certain Iran, where they\u2019ll just bomb the hell out of them and then impose economic sanctions and starve people to death,\u201d Santos said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santos then referenced a study published by The Lancet, which reviewed the health toll of economic sanctions<\/a>, to refer to how deadly the effects of economic sanctions can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is the United States government going to audit that money?\u201d Santos said. \u201cHow are we going to know where it\u2019s going and where it\u2019s being spent? It\u2019s quite possible that it could become a huge slush fund with literal millions of dollars in it that they could use however they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another protester, Mark Etheridge, shared a similar sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the simplest terms, it\u2019s money laundering,\u201d Etheridge said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be no oversight, as with many things with the Trump administration. They\u2019re going to get their first cut off the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what they thought about those who are glad that the U.S. invaded Venezuela, both Santos and Etheridge had their own responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the people saying, \u2018we need to celebrate that Maduro is gone,\u2019 and that is true, but what comes next?\u201d Etheridge said. \u201cThe same people are still in power, the same organizations, people with the same outlooks and tactics, a corrupt government is still in power.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santos pointed to the recent pardon Trump granted to Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, the former president of Honduras and a convicted drug trafficker, as evidence that the capture of Maduro was not to free Venezuela of a dictator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the emotional weight felt by many of the attending protesters, the gathering remained peaceful as those present demanded change.<\/p>\n