Protests against the US operation in Venezuela were held near the White House, CBS News reports.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in New York's main square, Times Square. They held banners and posters with slogans such as “Hands off Venezuela!“, “Stop bombing Venezuela!“ and “US get out of the Caribbean!“.
Organizers leading the protest in front of the White House cited polls from recent months that show a majority of Americans oppose military action in Venezuela. Some of the organizers defended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a legitimate leader, while others noted that they have mixed feelings about him as a leader but are fundamentally opposed to U.S. intervention, The Washington Post reported.
Earlier, New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani criticized the Trump administration for the operation in Venezuela and personally called the president to express his protest.
“I called the president and spoke directly with him to express my disagreement with this act and to clarify that this is an opposition based on opposition to regime change and violation of federal international law“, Mamdani told reporters.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the US military on the night of January 3 during a special operation involving Delta Force. He and his wife were taken to the landing ship USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean. From there, the Venezuelan president was transported to New York, where he will stand trial.
The United States accuses the Venezuelan leader of “narcoterrorism“ and drug smuggling.