Voces de la Frontera, a Latinx and immigrant-led membership-based organization working for immigrant, worker and student rights, issued a statement Tuesday night on the recent US military operation exfiltrating Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas. The Milwaukee-based organization said that “the U.S. armed operation in Venezuela must be clearly and unequivocally rejected.”
The statement recognized that the Venezuelan people have endured years of political repression, economic hardship, and the systematic silencing of political opposition under the rule of Maduro, and that it” is understandable and valid that many Venezuelans welcome the end of his hold on power and continue to seek a peaceful transition shaped by the will of the people.” At the same time, the statement says that the U.S. armed operation in Venezuela must be clearly and unequivocally rejected.
“The fact that Maduro governed in authoritarian ways does not give the United States the right to invade another country, bomb civilian areas or fishermen, or decide the future of a sovereign nation,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera. “Democracy is rooted in self-determination and sovereignty. The US military action in Venezuela is criminal, without authorization of the U.S. Congress and in violation of international and national law. Trump’s true intentions are not about building democracy in Venezuela, but a naked power grab to steal oil and mineral resources for the benefit of oil corporations and private military companies. Trump made an explicit warning to Latin America of the intention of the U.S. to escalate the war in the hemisphere for the sake of corporate interests. This only weakens democratic norms at home and abroad.”
Congress must do its job, Neumann-Ortiz added. “The public must demand that our elected leaders stop this administration’s criminal attacks on families here and abroad,” she said. “The American people want leaders to prioritize healthcare, housing, and education over the disgraceful misuse of billions of public dollars for militarism and a racist campaign of terror against immigrants and people of color.”
