On Saturday 17 January, demonstrators gathered outside the US consulate in Edinburgh to protest against the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro was captured during “large-scale” strikes on Venezuela on 3 January, with the mission dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
The Venezuelan President is currently facing charges in the US, alleging his engagement in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy. However, the Venezuelan government has stated that the aim of the US strikes was to seize the nation’s oil and minerals.
The Student spoke to members of the Edinburgh University Venezuelan Society about Maduro’s capture. In relation to US motivation, Carlo Orlandi said: “I have long known – as most Venezuelans have – that the United States interest in my country is largely about its oil reserves … If the price of freedom and justice is control over our oil, then I accept that cost.”
In Edinburgh, Stop the War Scotland enacted a demonstration with the support of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Scottish Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the Scottish Venezuela Solidarity Campaign. Protesters called on world leaders to condemn US actions as a breach of international law.
First Minister John Swinney named Maduro’s regime “illegitimate and authoritarian” but “cannot see how international law has been respected” by the United States.
Secretary of Stop the War Scotland, Sophie Johnson, said: “It’s time for the Scottish Government to end its trade talks with the US until aggression ceases and international law is complied with.”
Following Maduro’s capture, the Venezuelan government has begun releasing political prisoners, with Trump announcing the closure of the El Helicoide prison. El Helicoide has been reported by human rights groups to have inflicted torture on its political prisoners, including electrocution and beating.
In relation to demonstrations against Maduro’s capture, Master’s student Victoria, who was raised in Venezuela, said: “Protesting against the capture of a dictator who starved, repressed, and killed his own population is not only deeply insensitive but also risks erasing the pain Venezuelans have endured for decades.
“Many Venezuelans are willing to welcome the possibility of change, even when it does not arrive in the way we once hoped for.”
The future for Venezuela proves unclear, with Trump announcing he will “run” the country himself until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” can be ensured.
In this intermittent period, Trump has backed Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, claiming she was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
“US Consulate – 1-4 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh” by Drnoble is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
