The Answer Coalition – 2019-02-05 14:07:14
http://www.answercoalition.org/sign_on_to_the_national_march_hands_off_venezuela
ACTION ALERT: “Hands Off Venezuela” March on DC
The Answer Coalition
(February 2, 2019) Massive crowd greets Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to mark the 20th anniversary of the rise to power of the late Hugo Chavez.
“People Of The US, 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.
WASHINGTON, DC (February 1, 2019) — 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 US 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 US 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 Guaido. Guaido is a US-trained operative who was unknown to the vast majority of Venezuelans before he proclaimed himself president — at Vice President Mike Pence’s urging.
Although Guaido 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:
* US hands off Venezuela!
* NO to the coup — the US does not have the right to select other country’s leaders!
* NO to the sanctions, oil embargo and economic war on Venezuela that aims to cause suffering for ordinary people in the country.
* NO to intervention and war from the US and their proxies in the region.
ACTION: Sign On As An Endorser Here!
Initial signers:
* ANSWER Coalition
* CodePink
* Black Alliance for Peace
* Alliance for Global Justice
* Popular Resistance
* Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee
* Haïti Liberte
* International Support Haiti Network
* Popular Education Project
* Abby Martin, journalist, The Empire Files
* Dr. Jill Stein, 2016 Green Party presidential candidate
* Dr. Jared Ball, Prof. of Communication Studies, Morgan State Univ., imixwhatilike
* Medea Benjamin, activist and author, CodePink
* Cindy Sheehan, activist and author, Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox
* Berthony Dupont, Director, Haiti Liberte
* Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, constitutional rights attorney
* Max Blumenthal, journalist
* Ajamu Baraka, National Organizer, Black Alliance for Peace
* Mike Prysner, Iraq War veteran, producer, The Empire files
* Dr. George Ciccariello-Maher, author
* Dr. Anthony Monteiro, Saturday Free School
* Dr. Jodi Dean, author, Prof. of Political Science, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
* Gloria La Riva, National Coordinator, Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee
* Kim Ives, journalist
* Anoa Changa, host, The Way With Anoa
* Dan Cohen, journalist and filmmaker
* Chuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator, Alliance for Global Justice
* Eugene Puryear, Stop Police Terror Project
* Jeanette Charles, International Solidarity Liaison, Venezuela Analysis
* Lucas Koerner, Editor and Analyst, Venezuela Analysis
* Margaret Flowers, Co-Coordinator, Popular Resistance
* Kevin Zeese, Co-Coordinator, Popular Resistance
* Dan Kovalik, author and human rights lawyer
* Mahdi Bray, National Director, American Muslim Alliance (AMA)
* Brian Becker, National Director, ANSWER Coalition
* Gar Smith, Environmentalists Against War
Rival Groups Rally in Venezuela as
US Sees Coup Bid Losing Steam
PressTV
CARACAS (February 3, 2019) — Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his legitimate government have staged rival rallies in the capital Caracas.
The rallies attracted huge crowds in different parts of the city on Saturday, with demonstrators expressing support for President Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido who declared himself “interim president” last month.
The gatherings came on the eve of a deadline imposed by the European Union and major European countries for the Venezuelan leader to call “free elections” or have them recognize Guaido.
Pro-Maduro demonstrators converged in the western side of the capital city to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bolivarian revolution and the rise to power of the late Hugo Chavez.
Maduro Calls for Early Parliamentary Elections
Addressing his supporters, Maduro called for new parliamentary elections earlier than planned and reiterated the legitimacy of his presidency and his government amid mounting Western pressure for him to step down.
“They (the opposition) want to bring forward elections, let’s have elections,” Maduro said, adding he was “very ashamed to see this group of opposition coup perpetrators” take orders from Washington.
Hundreds of members of a civilian militia and public workers attended the pro-Maduro rally, many of them wearing khaki uniforms in a show of military support for the 56-year-old president.
Guaido Calls for More Protests against Maduro
On the other side, supporters of Guaido, who is also head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, gathered at five locations around the city for a march on EU headquarters in eastern Caracas.
Carrying Venezuelan flags and blowing horns and whistles, the demonstrators called for the resignation of Maduro and an earlier than planned parliamentary election.
Addressing thousands of his supporters in Caracas, Guaido said this month “should be decisive,” and that protests would continue until his supporters achieved “freedom.”
The Venezuelan opposition leader also reiterated an appeal to the “civil and military officials” of Maduro’s government to back him. “Soldier of the nation… you have a role in the recovery of Venezuela,” he said.
The 35-year-old Guaido further called for another demonstration on February 12.
The rallies came a day after US Vice President Mike Pence reiterated support for Guaido, saying Washington would forgo “dialogue” and consider “all options” to help the self-proclaimed president against the legal government of Maduro.
The administration of President Donald Trump has wasted no efforts in stepping up pressure on Maduro since Guaido challenged his leadership.
Trump immediately recognized the opposition leader as the legitimate president of the oil-rich country, and soon after that Washington imposed unilateral sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry in an attempt to boost the opposition.
Maduro, who began his second six-year term as president in January, has the backing of the country’s army amid the political crisis. Reiterating support for Maduro, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said earlier this week that his soldiers were ready to die for the country.
Oil-rich Venezuela is mired in economic turmoil, with people grappling with hyperinflation, power cuts and shortages of basic items.
Caracas accuses Washington of being behind the crisis as part of a bid to topple Maduro’s government.
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