Activists in 65 US cities demonstrate against US invasion of Venezuela

As US President Donald Trump increased his threats of an invasion of Venezuela this week, activists across the US quickly mobilised to say no to war.

Led by dozens of groups, including the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and the Palestinian Youth movement, thousands of people in 65 cities and towns across the US took to the streets on 6 December.

Holding signs in English and Spanish, demonstrators chanted anti-war slogans, and spoke about similarities to the lead-up to the US invasion of Iraq 22 years ago, an unpopular war later revealed to be based on faulty intelligence.

The gatherings come days after the US attacked a small boat near Venezuela, followed by another attack on survivors of the vessel, actions that many elected officials are describing as a war crime.

"A call went out earlier this week to have a nationwide day of action against the impending war in Venezuela," Sanika Mahajan, an organiser with the ANSWER Coalition, told The New Arab. She pointed to Trump’s elevated threats of land strikes following US boat strikes in the Caribbean.

"We know that any money spent on war is money not spent on our communities," she said, turning her head to a nearby group of people standing in line for food and supplies for cold.

"The people of the United States do not want to get dragged into another war. We do not want to pay for another war that benefits the richest people," she said.

For Rami Abdelkarim, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, threats of an invasion of Venezuela show echoes of Israel’s US-supported war in Gaza.

"This is the United States playbook. As Palestinians, it is imperative, and as people of conscience in the United States, we have to show up against US imperialism – from Gaza to Venezuela," he said.

"To fight imperialism in Venezuela is also to fight imperialism in Gaza," he said. "These two struggles are completely intertwined. It really is the fight against the boot of the United States and its military capabilities, murdering people with no international standing. We saw this for two years in Gaza."