Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
A protest was held in San Antonio on Saturday, as part of a series of demonstrations in cities across the country opposing the Trump administration’s intervention in Venezuela.
About 80 protesters from the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the 50501 Movement gathered at the intersection of San Pedro Avenue and Basse Road, the site of an ICE raid last year. They held signs that read “No Blood for Oil,” “Democracy Needs Your Courage,” and “Money for Healthcare, Not War and Detention.”
Early Saturday morning, the U.S. military, under the direction of President Trump, carried out airstrikes in Caracas, Venezuela, and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. They were later extradited to the United States and arrived in New York Saturday afternoon.
According to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Maduros have been charged in the Southern District of New York. Nicolás Maduro faces charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.
“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil, in American courts,” Bondi said in a post on X.
President Trump said the United States would temporarily oversee the country in Maduro’s absence.
In San Antonio, protesters called on Congress to intervene, arguing the president’s actions were illegal and alleging the strikes were an attempt to gain control of Venezuela’s oil resources.
Maria Ysabel Trevino, who attended the protest with her brother, called Saturday’s military action a travesty.
“To remove another head of state without legal process does not make it a legal action. All it is is kidnapping, and the United States should be above that,” Trevino said. “We should be an example of what the rule of law is - not only in this country, but in the world.”
San Antonio is home to a large military population and several military installations. Corrie Rosen, a local organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the city would feel the impact if the conflict escalates.
“We have to build the anti-war movement in San Antonio, Texas,” Rosen said. “This is Military City USA. This city will be directly impacted if there’s escalation in Venezuela, and we need to build a working-class movement that is anti-war.”
Among those protesting included Tori Olmo, an Army veteran who served during the Iraq war. She said the strikes drew similarities to the U.S. invading Iraq in 2003.
“We're going in there for one thing and one thing only, to enrich the rich, to make billionaires richer, to pay Trump's friends just like Bush,” she said. "I mean, it's the whole thing happening all over again. The only difference is, when our military members come home from this one, nobody's going to be cheering for them, because we all know what's going on. We've seen it before.”
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who also served during the Iraq war, echoed similar sentiments late Saturday night. She issued a statement that said in part San Antonio will "disproportionately answer when duty calls."
“I sincerely hope our Commander in Chief and those advising him have thought through the consequences of these monumental actions. The American people simply cannot afford another reckless adventure in regime change,” she said.
