Dozens of demonstrators of various stripes gathered outside the federal courthouse in freezing temperatures in New York on Monday to express their views on the US criminal charges against Venezuela’s forcibly removed president, Nicolás Maduro.
As Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges related to international drug trafficking and weapons charges inside the heavily secured court, Alejandro Flores joined other Venezuelans outside in chants that celebrated the detention of the Latin American dictator since the early hours of Saturday.
Flores, a 34-year-old from Caracas, said he was lucky enough to migrate to the US to pursue an education more than a decade ago, but left behind relatives who struggled economically. Some of them live today in buildings affected by the US attack that ultimately led to Maduro’s capture and extraction from Venezuela by US military force, Flores said.
“The fact that Maduro is in court means justice is being served. He is the reason Venezuela saw millions of people leaving their country, looking for something to eat,” said Flores, who now lives in Brooklyn.
“I want to see my country free, I want my Colombian wife to visit my country, I want to have the opportunity to celebrate with my family that still lives there, but if you ask me if Venezuela is free, the answer is: not yet. Venezuelans need to decide who they want as president.”
Across the street from the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, on the other side of the protest area that was divided up by a group of New York City police officers, was activist Izzy McCabe, 21. She had arrived that morning all the way from Seattle, Washington.
McCabe is a member of the Freedom Road Socialist organization, a fringe communist group dating to the 1980s.
McCabe attended the International People’s Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace of Our Americas in Venezuela, an annual gathering of socialist organizations, a few weeks ago, along with thousands of delegates from countries around the world.
“I spoke with Venezuelans in Venezuela and they are committed to resisting US imperialism because they love their country. They want to stay in control of the destiny of their country,” said McCabe.
She added: “I am here to protest against US intervention and to remind people that there are international laws that need to be respected.”
At a playground across the street filled with protesters, Pedro Reyes recounted how he was shot at by the authorities in Venezuela more than a decade ago for protesting against relatives losing their jobs.
“He [Maduro] deserves to be detained and to pay for what his regime did to me, my family and my friends,” said Reyes in Spanish.
After the incident, Reyes said, he migrated along with his wife and first child to Argentina. In 2021, they crossed the US-Mexico border and asked for asylum in the US and were still awaiting a resolution for their case. The Guardian was not able immediately and independently to verify details of Reyes’s account.
“Let’s be honest, we are happy that Maduro was detained, but this happiness is momentary. There are people still associated with Maduro in Venezuela and as long as they stay, the country will not be free,” he said. “What guarantees that we will be safe, that my children will be safe if we go back? Nobody,” he added.
A statement was issued from the group Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, a community-based organization that assists Venezuelan asylum seekers in New York.
“For many Venezuelans in the diaspora, the primary concern was, and still is, the safety of our families inside Venezuela. People feared that relatives could face harassment, detention or retaliation for expressing dissent, or simply for having family members abroad who speak publicly about the situation,” the statement said.
“There were also serious humanitarian worries. The collapse of the public health system meant that illness could quickly become life-threatening. Economically, families have been unable to survive on local incomes: the official minimum wage amounts to only a few dollars per month, while basic living costs exceed hundreds of dollars, forcing many in the diaspora to support entire households from abroad.”
Many demonstrators waved Venezuelan flags. Some carried signs saying “Free President Maduro”, “USA, Hands Off Venezuela” and “No War for Venezuelan Oil”, others had signs saying: “Thank You, President Donald Trump.”
With emotions running high and opinions around the world running freely, many protesters among the diaspora that had gathered in lower Manhattan kept their own counsel on the geopolitics of it all but said in talking to the Guardian: “If you want to know what is happening in Venezuela, ask a Venezuelan.”
