Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America oppose U.S. involvement in Venezuela

Hands Off Venezuela march in St. Petersburg Photo by Leah Burdick

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the U.S. military over the weekend and is facing charges related to drug trafficking and weapons. Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) oppose the U.S. involvement in Venezuela.

Pinellas DSA has been protesting U.S. military action against Venezuela. 

The organization said the actions by the U.S. over the past few months have been horrific and the capture of Maduro is illegal.

“The Trump Administration has been pretty clear this is not about benefiting the Venezuelan people. If it was, they would have ended the sanctions that have been strangling the Venezuelan people for decades. This is also clearly not in favor of the American working class or benefiting us at all,” Thomas Gross a Pinellas DSA member. 

Gross said no country should have the right to tell another country how to govern. 

He said they are concerned that this situation could escalate and that similar actions could become more common among other countries in the future, since the U.S. did it. 

Daniel Meininger is a Pinellas DSA member. 

“The immediate one people point to is Taiwan and China. I think this marks a period of new era for other countries because it doesn’t seem like there are rules,” Meininger said.

This is in violation of like all the articles in the charter, you know, respecting sovereignty and so the, the, the distinction between politics and war is becoming very blurred if it even exists at all,” Meininger said.

He said the U.S. is unjustly trying to paint Venezuela as the enemy.

“They have been calling Maduro a a narco-terrorist for decades at this point. They have implemented sanctions on Venezuela and the only crime we see, that has to do with America, is because they dare expropriate the oil that belongs in their country,” Meininger said.

He said this is a part of a larger campaign of military aggression against Venezuela.

Last Sunday, Pinellas DSA held an emergency “Hands off Venezuela” march in St. Petersburg and the group will host another march on January 17th starting at Mirror Lake Park.