KARACHI: Various trade unions and civil society organisations held a protest demonstration here on Sunday, demanding the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros and his wife, who speakers claimed have been abducted as part of an armed aggression by the United States.
The protest, organised by the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) and the Home Based Women Workers Federation Pakistan (HBWWFP), saw participants carrying Venezuelan flags and portraits of former leader Hugo Chávez and President Maduro. The demonstration was held to express solidarity with Venezuela and condemn what organisers termed US war hysteria.
Addressing the gathering, NTUF General Secretary Nasir Mansoor alleged that US President Trump had imposed a criminal war on Venezuela. He described the alleged abduction of President Maduro as blatant terrorism, claiming it was a response to the Venezuelan leader’s stance against US influence and his use of oil revenues for social welfare.
Mansoor drew a parallel with the invasion of Iraq, which he said was justified with false claims of “weapons of mass destruction. He asserted that the US was now using the pretext of drug trafficking to orchestrate a government change and seize control of Venezuela’s significant oil reserves.
Intellectual Dr Asghar Dashti told the rally that the US actions were an attempt to crush the Bolivarian Revolution and install a puppet government that would serve American corporate interests by taking control of national oil wealth.
Zahra Khan, General Secretary of the HBWWFP, placed the events in the context of a long history of US intervention in Latin America. She referenced the Monroe Doctrine as a policy that has historically treated the region as a US personal backyard, leading to the overthrow of democratically elected governments.
Speakers at the event also criticised the silence and tacitly accommodating policy of the BRICS nations, particularly China. They further condemned the Pakistani government for reportedly nominating President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, calling the move shameful and demanding a public apology.
During the demonstration, an effigy of the US President was burned by young participants. The gathering issued a formal demand for President Trump to be tried at the International Court of Justice for his alleged role in the conflict.
The protest concluded with an appeal to international democratic and peace-loving forces to stand against what the speakers termed imperialist aggression. Other notable figures who addressed the rally included Khaliq Junejo of Jeay Sind Mahaz, Hamid Baloch, Gul Rehman, and journalist Shakeel Yamin Kanga, among others.
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