Wave of international solidarity with Venezuela

By John Catalinotto
January 6, 2026

These reports include excerpts from a roundup on lahaine.org and selections from other sources internationally. A separate International Action Center report on demonstrations inside the United States can be found at iacenter.org .

Social and political movements around the world have rejected U.S. imperialist aggression and reaffirmed their solidarity with the Bolivarian people of Venezuela regarding the U.S. kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his spouse Cilia Adela Flores.

This was shown by solidarity movements taking to the streets as well as the official positions of governments. Unless noted otherwise, the demonstrations described below took place on Jan. 3.

Mexico

Anti-imperialist activists held a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, where they chanted, “The people united will never be defeated” and carried banners calling for “U.S. hands off Venezuela” and that the U.S. should stop the extortion against Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia. “We are not your back yard,” one banner read.

Cuba

With slogans against imperialism and strong criticism of the military offensive launched by the United States early Jan. 3, residents of Havana gathered at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune to express their rejection of Washington’s actions against Venezuela.

During the rally, participants condemned the prolonged siege against the South American country and expressed their solidarity with the Venezuelan people, whom they described as direct victims of a policy of harassment that violates the sovereignty and self-determination of nations.

Social organizations, parties, unions and anti-fascist movements called for and carried out demonstrations outside U.S. Embassies in Quito, Ecuador, and Brasilia, Brazil, Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina, the demonstrations were held outside the U.S. Embassies. Demonstrations were also held in Puerto Rico.

Athens, Greece

Thousands of people mobilized en masse in Athens, Greece, marching energetically toward the U.S. Embassy to condemn the U.S. invasion, bombings and kidnappings.

The crowd began to gather at 6:00 p.m. (local time) in front of Liberty Park, following a call from various anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist leftist organizations and collectives, including Communist Liberation and ANTARSYA. At 6:30 p.m., the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) joined in, forming a massive rally with antiwar and anti-imperialist slogans.

Police established a barrier in front of the embassy. Protesters described the police action as provocative, but it didn’t stop them from marching to the U.S. Embassy, which they called “the biggest terrorist hideout.”

During the demonstration, the protesters condemned imperialist actions and stressed that “the only superpower is the people,” while emphasizing that Washington is shedding the innocent blood of the Venezuelan people. The demonstrators made a clear connection to the struggle of the Palestinian people, with chants of “From Venezuela to Palestine — not a single [U.S.] American will remain.”

Organizers made it clear that more actions would be mobilized in the future.

Berlin, Germany

Demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, holding banners that demanded “Hands off Venezuela” in German and “Only the people can save the people” in Spanish.

Paris, France

Thousands of people, called together by left-wing parties and organizations, protested in Paris against U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, criticizing the position of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Chants of “Yankees out of Latin America!” and “The people united will never be defeated!” rang out in Spanish, while “Resistance!” and “Free Maduro!” were heard in French on the streets of Paris. In Paris’s Place de la République, people shouted, “Donald Trump, go away, Caracas does not belong to you!”

Oslo, Norway

The Norwegian Committee for Solidarity with Latin America expressed its support for the Venezuelan people and constitutional President Nicolás Maduro. It demanded his immediate release and an end to actions that violate Venezuela’s sovereignty. A demonstration also took place in Aarhus, the second-largest city in

Denmark

London, England

Demonstrations and statements by collectives and activists took place in London’s banking district to denounce U.S. intervention and demand respect for Venezuelan sovereignty.

Demonstrations took place in the central squares of Barcelona, in the Catalan region and Valencia, on Jan. 3 and another protest was held the next day in Madrid, the capital.

West Bengal, India

In India, protesters in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal state, spoke out in support of Venezuela, chanting slogans in favor of the South American country’s sovereignty and condemning the military actions of the United States.

Government responses

At the governmental level, Russia strongly condemned the attack and expressed “deep concern” over the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores. The Russian Foreign Ministry also demanded immediate clarification and reaffirmed its support for Venezuelan sovereignty. At the same time, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a telephone conversation with Vice President and Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, reaffirming his support and calling for the avoidance of further escalation through sovereign dialogue.

China also condemned the “flagrant” use of force against a sovereign state and warned that the aggression threatens regional peace, urging respect for the United Nations Charter. In Latin America, Mexico, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rejected the intervention as a violation of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter and reiterated the region’s historic role as a zone of peace.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva denounced the U.S.’s crossing “an unacceptable line,” activated emergency meetings between the Foreign Ministry and Defense, and maintained constant monitoring of the situation. Colombia, following instructions from President Gustavo Petro, repudiated the unilateral use of force, activated diplomatic channels to bring the case to the United Nations, and put preventive measures in place at its border with Venezuela.

Uruguay’s government expressed “serious concern” and categorically rejected the military intervention, urging the U.N. and the Organization of American States to use their “good offices” to find a peaceful solution, reaffirming once again Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.

In Cuba, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez described the aggression as “state terrorism” against “Our America.” The Cuban president declared two days of national public mourning for the 32 Cubans, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, who were part of the defenders of Venezuela and died fighting heroically against the U.S. imperialist invaders.

In Iran, the Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. military aggression against Venezuela, stating that the attack represents a flagrant violation of regional and international peace and security.

At the international party level, the Communist Movement of Latin America and the Caribbean — with Communist Parties from 14 countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Honduras and the Dominican Republic) — issued a statement condemning the aggression and calling for immediate mobilization in defense of Venezuelan self-determination.

In West Asia and North Africa, organizations and movements in Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia and Palestine joined in the condemnation, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Ansar Allah, denouncing the operation as a violation of international law and a plundering of Venezuelan wealth. The Venezuelan government also thanked the governments of Namibia, Ghana, Malaysia and many other countries for their criticism of the U.S. attacks.

In the intellectual sphere, CLACSO (Latin American Council of Social Sciences) categorically condemned the attack, pointing to it as a return to colonial practices and calling for active solidarity from academia and social movements.

Washington’s aggression triggered a global reaction from governments, peoples and organizations that expressed solidarity with Venezuela or at a minimum aligned themselves in defense of Venezuelan sovereignty. They demanded the freedom and return to Venezuela of Maduro and Flores. They denounced the warmakers in Washington and its lackeys in the European Union.