October 6, 2026
The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) issued the following call for actions on Oct. 3, the nine-month anniversary of the Pentagon invasion of Venezuela: “On January 3 of this year, 2026, the U.S. military illegally attacked Venezuela, killed over 100 people and kidnapped its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, a member of the National Assembly. The two Venezuelan leaders have been imprisoned in a notorious Federal Prison in Brooklyn for eight months, awaiting trial on trumped-up charges.
Oct. 3, 2026, Brooklyn, New York. (Photo: Brenda Ryan)
“The U.S., which has long sought to overthrow Venezuela’s government and destroy its Bolivarian Revolution, alleges that Maduro participated in conspiracies to import cocaine, possess destructive devices, and collaborate with organizations that Washington has designated as terrorist groups.
“President Maduro and Cilia Flores are innocent! The U.S. is guilty of violating the sovereignty of Venezuela, the U.N. Charter and U.S. law.”
The following reports reflect coordinated protests held across the U.S. to demand the freedom of these two revolutionary leaders.
Activists from two dozen organizations gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores have been imprisoned since the U.S. government attacked Venezuela and kidnapped them on Jan. 3. Protests demanding their release have been held at the facility the third day of every month for the past nine months.
Speakers noted that Flores’ lawyers have filed an application requesting that she be held under house arrest while awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027. According to news reports, the filing says her heart condition has significantly worsened since her incarceration. She has recurring chest pain, has lost two molars, lost more than 25 pounds and likely had a minor heart attack on July 29.
A court hearing on the application is to be held before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein Oct. 8. A rally will be held outside the Manhattan courthouse at 9:30 a.m. in support of Flores. Protesters were given a slip of paper with Hellerstein’s number (212-805-0152) and urged to leave a recorded message asking him to grant Flores’s application for pretrial release.
“Tell him to show compassion and do the right thing,” Sara Flounders, from Workers World Party, said during the rally. “We are challenging a kidnapping that violates international law, U.S. law and Venezuelan law.”
The protesters marched from a corner of the detention facility to an area where Maduro is believed to be held. His son told organizers that Maduro heard chanting during a previous demonstration. They also celebrated Flores’s upcoming 70th birthday on Oct. 15, distributing cupcakes and cards and singing “Happy Birthday.”
Oct. 3, 2026, Atlanta. (Photo: Jonathan H)
The busy Atlanta intersection of Moreland and John Lewis Parkway was the site of a solidarity visibility action called by multiple organizations that participate in the city’s Venezuela and Cuba coalitions. Prominent among the banners, flags and signs was a large wooden billboard that read “U.S. Hands Off Venezuela! Free Maduro y Flores. ¡Ahora!”
The sound of horns honking in support was virtually non-stop as well as “thumbs up” and friendly waves from drivers and passengers in cars, buses, on bikes and walking. Members of Black Alliance for Peace, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Workers World Party, Veterans for Peace and Democratic Socialists of America participated.
On Oct. 3 a solidarity protest took place in Evart, Michigan, to demand the freedom of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores. Most interactions were positive with people displaying thumbs up and honks of approval despite a few negative reactions. People stopped to ask questions about the signs being held, what the protest was all about and thanking the organizers for the action.
Oct. 3, 2026, Evart, Michigan.
Activists from Seattle Against War and Workers World Party demanded freedom for President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores on Oct.3. This Seattle street rally demanded “U.S., Hands Off Venezuela!” as one of many actions internationally on Oct. 3.
A rally and information table in Portland, Oregon, to “Free President Maduro and Celia Flores Now!” and to “Stop the blockade of Cuba” was organized by the No War on Venezuela Network, Portland Action for Cuba (PAC), Veterans for Peace and Workers World Party.
Oct. 3, 2026, Portland, Oregon.
John Waller from the National Network on Cuba and PAC said that because of U.S. sanctions: “Cubans are facing acute shortages of food, medicine and gasoline. Daily routine power cuts are causing water shortages.”
Waller quoted Trump saying he is waiting for Cuba to collapse or for the Cuban people to rise up in protest and beg the U.S. for mercy. But Waller countered Trump, saying: “It hasn’t happened. Under siege the Cuban Revolution has shown it has the determination, base of support and organizational capacity to resist and survive.”
Dan Shea, a Vietnam war veteran from Veterans for Peace and PAC, said he experienced the “absolute futility of war. I live every single day with the crushing weight of a traumatic memory block — a horror that took place in a village farm. Through that trauma, I learned a truth that changed the entire trajectory of my life: those people were simply defending their homeland from an invading force. I realized who the enemy really was. The enemy was us.”
Shea was a peace delegate to Venezuela in 2019. He recalled: “I looked into the eyes of the Venezuelan people and saw the exact same instincts of survival and revolutionary spirit I had witnessed in Southeast Asia decades ago.
“If we allow our government to unilaterally strip away a nation’s sovereignty to control its oil, we destroy the very foundation of global peace and human rights. We must stand up, get into the streets and demand that our representatives halt this cycle of aggression. Free Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. Hands off Cuba!”
Over 200 students and youth rallied for Nicolás Maduro and Celia Flores at the New Orleans Healing Center. The protest, called by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN), condemned the horrific treatment of Cilia Flores, who is currently experiencing a life-threatening heart condition. New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), an AWAN affiliate, organized the demonstration alongside Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
“When I met farm workers, indigenous organizers, and trade unionists in Venezuela, all of them denounced the Yankee imperialist attacks on their sovereignty!” cried Ebtesham Ahmed, a member of New York University SDS. Ahmed visited Venezuela mere weeks before the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores. They lifted their fist to the crowd, sharing a chant they learned in Venezuela: “¡Yo solo sé tres palabras en inglés, Yankee go home!”
Protesters held signs that read “Free First Lady Cilia Flores!” and “Stop U.S. war on Venezuela!”
Contributors for this round-up are Dianne Mathiowetz, Fight Back News! staff, Jim McMahan, Lyn Neeley, Brenda Ryan and Michael Ward.
