(March 16, 2019) — Hundreds of protesters are gathering in Washington DC to demand “No coup! No war! No sanctions!” on Venezuela, and show support for Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro against regime change efforts.
A large sea of demonstrators met at Lafayette Park for a march on Washington Saturday afternoon to show opposition to the Trump administration’s effort to overthrow Maduro and replace him with opposition figure Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself president with the support of the US, Canada, many European nations and other leaders.
Speakers at the event include Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, actor Danny Glover, Codepink’s Medea Benjamin, Grayzone journalist Max Blumenthal and a number of other journalists and activists.
The demonstrators are protesting against a policy that repeats previous regime change efforts in Iraq, Libya and Syria, and are rejecting the so-called ‘Monroe Doctrine’ the US has previously employed across Latin America.
By Coalition of Signers
/ ANSWER Coalition
On Saturday, March 16,
thousands of people will march in Washington, D.C. against the Trump
administration’s effort to engineer a coup in Venezuela and a new devastating
war there. The aggressive policy against Venezuela repeats the ugly pattern of
wars for regime change in the oil-rich countries of Iraq and Libya. National
Security Advisor John Bolton is reading from the same script, declaring a “troika
of tyranny” in Latin America (like the “axis of evil”) as a precursor for
regime change first in Venezuela, and then Cuba and Nicaragua. Trump has always
said that the “mistake” of the Middle East wars was that the U.S. didn’t “take
the oil.” It is time to stand up and with
a clear voice say NO to the newest example of the “Monroe Doctrine,” which the
U.S. government has used for over two centuries to repeatedly invade Latin
America and Caribbean, control its politics and extract its resources. The White House aims to
overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro and replace him with Juan
Guaidó. Guaidó is a U.S.-trained operative who was unknown to the vast majority
of Venezuelans before he proclaimed himself president — at Vice President Mike
Pence’s urging. Although Guaidó has the backing of Trump, the CIA, and the
Republican and Democratic Party leaderships alike, huge numbers of Venezuelans
have marched to reject this coup and defend their independence. On March 16,
the people of the United States will come together to say: Initial signers:“People Of The U.S., I Ask For Your Support To Reject The Interference Of Donald Trump’s Government In Making My Homeland A Vietnam In Latin America. Don’t Allow It!” — President Nicolas Maduro, January 31, 2017.
