New Orleans activists host solidarity with Venezuela panel

New Orleans, LA – On Sunday, November 23, two dozen activists packed a room for a panel about Venezuela and the U.S.’s escalating aggression and war against it. Freedom Road Socialist Organization organized the panel in collaboration with leaders from the student and anti-war movements.

The United States is amassing ever more troops and ships in the Caribbean Sea, creating a legitimate threat of a full-scale invasion and/or a bombing campaign. Trump’s rhetoric and actions against Venezuela are escalating.

The panel featured New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), a local anti-war and anti-Zionist organization, and Tom Burke of the national Anti-War Action Network (AWAN). A local chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) also participated.

“We as students are set to inherit a world of both suffering and exploitation,” said Navya Prakash, speaking on behalf of SDS. “We were promised opportunity, a life that would be better. What we’re getting instead is another war we do not need.”

This disillusionment is one of the primary reasons why students are so active in the anti-war struggle. In the last two years it was seen sharply with encampments, protests and divestment campaigns on the campuses of Tulane and Loyola Universities, as well as other schools.

Another point emphasized was the extrajudicial killings currently committed by the U.S. Navy in the Caribbean Sea. Over 80 people from five countries have been killed in the bombings of civilian fishing and transport boats, vessels the Trump administration labels “drug boats.”

“There is no evidence, there’s no trial, there’s no jury. Just utter destruction and death of innocent people,” stated Burke.

In his presentation, Burke highlighted the resilience of the Venezuelan people against U.S. attacks and intimidation, whether it be bombs, economic sanctions or outright kidnapping of Venezuela’s diplomat Alex Saab.

From first-hand accounts of his trips, Burke also spoke on how Venezuela is taking action to revamp its whole economy. Venezuela is achieving self-sufficiency, especially in important sectors such as agriculture. Burke noted the democratic nature of Venezuelan economic development, where the average worker gets a say and a vote in many development projects. He contrasted it with the chaos of the U.S., where corporations get free reign.

In a recent student conference in Venezuela, President Maduro called for U.S. students to stand against Trump’s aggression.

“Solidarity between the two countries is what’s going to bring U.S. imperialism down to its knees,” said Prakash of SDS.

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