Rhode Islanders rally against military action in Venezuela

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Hours after the Trump administration announced that it captured Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Rhode Islanders assembled in downtown Providence to protest.

On Saturday morning, the United States launched strikes in Caracas and captured Venezuela’s president and his wife on narco-terrorism charges.

In response, 70 cities across the United States, including Providence, rallied against the actions.

“Who gave the U.S. the right to interfere in another country’s, and a sovereign nation’s politics and to remove their head of state? This is an outrageous escalation of war,” Party for Socialism and Liberation organizer Beka Yang said.

Protestors said they don’t want the actions to lead to a war.

“It feels like a big ask, right, to say no war,” Party for Socialism and Liberation organizer Kuno Haimbodi said. “When we say no wars, we mean that. We mean moving away from an economic system that is driven purely by profit.”

Providence Revolutionary Communists of America member Jace Cardona said a war would not benefit the American people.

“These wars, do not serve the people of the U.S. I mean, the enemies are not overseas in Venezuela. They’re here at home. The people making the decision to send billions and millions overseas to fight wars,” Cardona said.

The Trump administration said it went after Maduro and his wife on narco-terrorism charges.

“The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States,” President Trump said.

Senator Jack Reed said the takeover is “ludicrous,” adding that “no serious plan” has been made to outline how the United States would run the country.

“We’re going to run the country until such time. As we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition, so. We don’t want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years,” Trump said.

President Trump said the United States is ready to stage a second and much larger attack if needed, but went on to say that the country “probably wont have to.”