Protest rally for Venezuela in Cork city centre tomorrow

A rally to protest the abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by United States forces is planned for Cork city centre tomorrow.

Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured by US forces last Sunday and brought to New York, where they are currently being held while Mr Maduro is being tried for drugs smuggling and possession of weapons.

The rally in Cork is planned for 2.30pm on the Grand Parade, following directly on from the weekly pro-Palestine protest.

Speakers at the demonstration will include representatives from People Before Profit, the Socialist Party, the Connolly Youth Movement, and other left-wing groups.

The organisers describe the planned event as a rally “against US imperialism, and in solidarity with the Venezuelan people”.

They describe the abduction as “an unprovoked attack and kidnapping (which was) simply a violent grab for resources”.

They criticised Taoiseach Micheál Martin for not following the lead of governments in Spain, Brazil, and other countries in condemning the US raid.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing following his meeting this week with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Mr Martin declined to criticise the US action, saying instead that he would have preferred a peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela.

He said that, in common with other EU member states, Ireland had never accepted the legitimacy of Mr Maduro’s claim to the presidency.

“He did a lot of damage and was quite tyrannical in his approach and repressive as a leader,” he said.

However, Mr Martin added, the Irish Government believed “the future of Venezuela is one that must be decided by the people of Venezuela”.

“We have to ensure that the people get to decide their future in Venezuela and that there’s strong adherence to international rules-based order.”

The organisers of Saturday’s planned rally said they were calling on as many people as possible to “send a message to the Government that, as with the slaughter in Gaza, the people will not stand idly by in the face of atrocity”.

They called for the Government to “immediately and unequivocally condemn” the US action and demand the release of Mr Maduro and Ms Flores.