New York activists demand freedom for President Maduro and First Lady Flores

New York, NY – 50 activists gathered outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Thursday, September 3, to protest the ongoing detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Attendees represented a broad coalition of New York organizations fighting against U.S. Intervention in Venezuela, including Brooklyn Against War, Workers World Party, Black Alliance for Peace, Venceremos Brigade, and the Venezuela Solidarity Network.

Attendees held signs demanding freedom for the kidnapped Venezuelan president and first lady and joined in chants like “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!” and “We will say it every time! U.S. sanctions are a crime!”

The protest occurred the day after motions were filed to dismiss the charges against Maduro and Flores. In the motions, the lawyers for Maduro and Flores maintain their innocence of the charges against them and further argue that the couple are immune from prosecution since they are the president and first lady of Venezuela. At the rally, speakers from multiple organizations pointed out that should the charges not be dismissed, this opens the door for the U.S. to pursue similar strategies of illegal imprisonment and prosecution against the leaders of other sovereign nations.

Speaking on behalf of Brooklyn Against War, Briony Smith said, “We know that this prosecution is baseless. We know it’s fabricated. And we know it’s illegal. But we also know that we are up against an administration rank with dangerous absurdity and hypocrisy. So, we’re going to keep fighting, and we’re going to be loud enough that the people of Venezuela can hear us, so that they know that we have not forgotten them, that we have not turned our backs on them, and that we will keep fighting until President Maduro and First Lady Flores are free!”

Protesters will return to the MDC on October 3, at 2 p.m. as part of the Anti-War Action Network’s National Day of Action against U.S. Intervention in Venezuela. The activists also vowed to rally outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan in support of Maduro and Flores on November 17, when the court will hear oral arguments to dismiss the charges.

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