Chicago rally demands ‘U.S. hands off Venezuela!’

Chicago, IL – Over 50 activists gathered in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago on the night of February 5, to rally in solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. Organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the event brought together progressive political organizations and trade unions to demand an end to U.S. aggression and threats of war with Venezuela.

Freezing rain did not dampen the energy of the crowd, as speakers called for solidarity with the Venezuelan people. Representatives of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the International League of People’s Struggle spoke on the context of U.S. imperialism around the world, and why solidarity with Venezuela will be an international movement.

Maria Moreno, financial secretary of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), connected the drive to seize Venezuelan oil to the ongoing privatization of education in our country, saying that “this is all part of the neoliberal capital program of privatizing public institutions. We have to stand straight and firm against these programs that hurt working people here and throughout the world.”

The rally concluded with a call to take action against Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate and a vocal supporter of Trump’s anti-democratic actions in Venezuela.

The event was endorsed by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Chicago ALBA Solidarity Committee, Black Lives Matter – Chicago, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Anakbayan Chicago, Party for Socialism and Liberation, La Voz de los de Abajo, International League of People’s Struggle, Communist Workers League, Chicago Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines and the Chicago Anti-War Coalition.