Montrealers gather to denounce U.S. violence in Venezuela and beyond

About a hundred people gathered on Saturday afternoon in downtown Montreal to denounce the American aggression in Venezuela. Earlier in the morning, U.S. Special Forces abducted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Within hours of hearing the morning’s news, activists mobilized to gather in front of the American consulate on Sainte-Catherine Street. Demonstrators carried Venezuelan, Colombian, and Palestinian flags, among others, and placards denouncing imperialism and war. 

For the protestors with whom The North Star spoke, the American aggression in Venezuela follows a familiar and longstanding pattern. 

“We’ve seen them do things like this before, especially in Latin America, kidnapping presidents and prime ministers. Panama, for example, comes to mind,” says Romera, whose energetic slogans lit up the event. 

In 1989, the United States invaded Panama to depose Manuel Noriega. Thousands were killed in that invasion, which was condemned by the United Nations as a flagrant violation of international law.

“I’m from Latin America, and we’ve seen that the United States has already staged a coup in our country, Chile. They often do things like that in Latin America—coups, stealing our resources, putting puppets in power, and then enriching themselves,” says Sandra Cordero, an activist with the labour group Workers’ Alliance.

In 1973, the United States laid the groundwork for a coup d’état against the socialist government of Salvador Allende. U.S.-backed General Augusto Pinochet’s subsequent reign was marked by brutal human rights abuses and political suppression in the form of torture, murder, and exile of dissenters. 

Cordero adds, “This isn’t new. We’ve been caught up in this for a long time. Fascism is on the rise. That’s because they also put puppets who are from the far right, obviously, in the United States, Peru, and various other countries. They’re going to come and plunder our main resources and then get rich off of it.”

Romera also sees a connection between America’s actions of the day in Venezuela and its role in Israel‘s war on Palestine and beyond. 

“[The kidnapping] is done in continuity with what is being done in Palestine, occupied Gaza, where the Israeli occupation is directly fuelled by U.S. and Western intervention. We have seen the same weapons used all over the world, U.S. weapons, which are responsible for the death, assassination, kidnapping, and all kinds of war crimes against thousands and millions of people around the world.”

She urges Quebec society to speak up and join the struggle against U.S. dominance. 

“The U.S. economy is based on military force and direct ties, particularly with countries like Canada, where the working class is also oppressed, where immigrants are oppressed. What we can do here is put pressure on our own government, against the rise of fascism, against agreements and treaties with the United States that are useless anyway,” she told The North Star. 

“They certainly serve some Quebecers, those in privileged positions, but they do not serve the majority, who we hope will not remain silent.”

Another demonstration will take place at the consulate on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.