Hands off Venezuela!

By Lyn Neeley, Martha Grevatt, WW Buffalo Bureau, Will Hodgkinson, Phebe Eckfeldt, Brenda Ryan, Dianne Mathiowetz and a guest author
November 25, 2025

In nine countries and at more than 60 locations, opponents of the threatened U.S. attack on the Bolivarian government held more than 100 actions from Nov. 15-23 demanding no war on Venezuela, the withdrawal of the U.S. military from the Caribbean, and the establishment of a “Zone of Peace” across the hemisphere.

Besides across the U.S. and Canada, there were events in Australia, Britain, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Inside the United States, where the call for this campaign originated, the organizations were also protesting the use of the U.S. Armed Forces and National Guard in U.S. cities to assist the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thugs who were attempting to round up migrant workers. Some protests also targeted the genocides in Gaza and Sudan.

Polls have indicated that as much as 70% of people in the U.S. oppose the threatened military adventure signaled by the summary murder of over 80 people working on boats in the Caribbean Sea – and in the Pacific Ocean west of Central America.

More information including a list of the sponsoring organizations, plus educational and logistical material can be found at Linktree. 

The following is a sample of activities reported by correspondents in the United States.

Portland, Oregon. Activists attended an educational event and rally on Nov. 23 calling for “No War on Venezuela, No Troops on Our Streets.”

The groups that organized the event in Portland included many that reflected those in the national coalition: All African People’s Revolutionary Party, International League of Peoples’ Struggle, People Organizing for Philippine Solidarity, Portland End the Blockade of Cuba Campaign, Resist U.S. led War, Veterans for Peace,   and Workers World.

Cleveland activists rallied on Nov. 22 around the theme of “Oppose imperialist ghouls! Stop the genocide in Palestine and Sudan, no to war in Venezuela!”

Speeches were interspersed with chants, including “Free, free Palestine!” and “Viva, viva Venezuela!”

The action was initiated by Cleveland United and endorsed by All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party, Antiwar Action Network, Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community, Cleveland Peace Action, Cleveland Sudan Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia, Palestinian Youth Movement and Workers World Party. Speakers represented a majority of the endorsing organizations.

Buffalo, New York. On Nov. 18 and Nov. 21 activists from the Democratic Socialists of America, Erie County Green Party, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Veterans for Peace and Workers World Party participated in a mobilization against U.S. militarism and state violence at home and abroad.

Special emphasis was placed on “Pentagon: hands off Venezuela!” and anti-ICE messaging. The events consisted primarily of road-side pickets with large banners and mass leafleting of a statement which can be found on the Buffalo Antiwar Facebook page.

Boston. Protesters rallied on Boston Common Nov. 22 to denounce increasingly provocative U.S. imperialist aggressive moves against Venezuela.

Jeff Parente, an Iraq War veteran with About Face, urged on-duty soldiers and sailors to defy Trump and self-proclaimed Secretary of War Peter Hegseth’s illegal and criminal orders for a murderous invasion.

Mairead Skehan-Gillis of Workers World Party vowed solidarity between the struggle of the Venezuelan people for self-determination and that of working people in the U.S who are defying austerity cuts in government services, racist ICE raids and U.S. troops targeting civilians in U.S. cities.

Longtime Unite Here! Local 26 leader Ed Childs fired up the crowd by linking the defense of Venezuelan sovereignty to class struggle in the core of the U.S. empire. Jorge Marin, a Venezuelan organizer of the Martin Luther King Jr. Bolivarian Circle in the greater Boston area, lauded the Venezuelan government’s vast improvements in housing, social welfare, free education and health care.

Providence, Rhode Island. “Hands off Venezuela!” was chanted by activists in front of the Rhode Island State House as they handed out literature and talked with passersby. John Prince, an organizer and board member with DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality) told the protesters: “We came out in the severe cold to demonstrate our solidarity with Venezuela. There will be more demonstrations in the near future.”

New York City. Hundreds of activists rallied on Nov. 22 at the Trump Building on Wall Street to protest the U.S. government’s escalating threats of war against Venezuela and to demand “No Troops on Our Streets!”

Larry Holmes, first secretary of Workers World Party, said:  “What people from around the world — from Venezuela to Africa to the Middle East to Asia — need us to do is to stop the beating heart of world oppression and imperialism at the source. It is a question of revolutionary duty.”

Emy, from Arm the Dollz, a Marxist-Leninist organization led by trans women, declared, “It is our duty to tear down Western corporate-backed narratives that display nations like Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and more as monsters when in fact we know who the true monster is.”

William Camacaro of Alliance for Global Justice said the U.S. wants “to revive the Monroe Doctrine, and we are here to say to them that they will fail.”

Briony, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said the U.S. actions were a clear attempt to overthrow the democratically elected Maduro government.

Norfolk, Virginia Naval Station: “No war on Venezuela, stop murdering boaters, end U.S. military occupation of Puerto Rico!” was the theme of the demonstration sponsored by Adolfina, Diaspora Pa’lante Collective, Juventud Unida por la Independencia, Puerto Rican Historical Collective,  and Veterans for Peace.

Atlanta capped off its week of solidarity actions with Venezuela with a street visibility protest on Nov. 21 during rush hour at Freedom Park’s intersection of Moreland Avenue and John Lewis Parkway. The multigenerational, multinational group held signs demanding no war on Venezuela and solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. Drivers in passing vehicles kept up a steady sound of honking horns and flashed thumbs up.

Among the organizations attending were Black Alliance for Peace, Code Pink, Friends of the Congo, International Action Center, Multi-Faith Coalition for Palestine, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Veterans for Peace and Workers World Party.

Earlier in the week, starting on Nov. 17, numerous WRFG 89.3FM regularly scheduled programs, both music and public affairs, provided listeners with special No War on Venezuela information. In particular, there was the hour-long interview with Chucho Garcia, Venezuelan diplomat on The Labor Forum, 4-5 p.m.  on Monday. (Audio available on the station’s archives, wfg.org)

The Atlanta No War on Venezuela Coalition members are preparing an event for the next national action date of Dec. 17, the anniversary of the death of Simón Bolívar, hailed as the “liberator” from Spanish colonialism.

Contributing to this article in order of reports above were Lyn Neeley, Martha Grevatt, Buffalo WW bureau, Will Hodgkinson, Phebe Eckfeldt, Brenda Ryan, Al Long and Dianne Mathiowetz.