Hundreds of demonstrators filled Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles yesterday, joining a wave of emergency protests across the country following the Trump administration’s military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Despite heavy rain in the Southland, the DTLA rally drew activists, labor leaders, and residents who gathered to denounce what they described as a lawless act of aggression and a violation of international sovereignty.
The Los Angeles mobilization, which began at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 3, was part of a coordinated effort led by the ANSWER Coalition and supported by groups like Refuse Fascism and DSA-LA. Protesters carried signs reading “No Blood for Oil” and “Stop the Illegal War,” echoing concerns that the military intervention is a pretext for seizing Venezuela’s vast oil reserves rather than a mission for democracy.
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Refuse Fascism leaders, who also rallied at the White House, characterized the ousting of Maduro as a “fascist escalation.” Andy Zee, a national leader of RefuseFascism.org, issued a scathing statement during the emergency rallies, calling the operation lawless aggression and an open assertion that force alone determines what is right. Zee described the action as gangster rule on a global scale, suggesting the regime believes it can act without consequence or restraint.
The organization argued that the administration’s refusal to consult Congress before initiating acts of war exposes a rule by decree that replaces constitutional law with raw power. Zee warned that the normalization of such actions by the public is a deadly illusion, urging citizens to take to the streets with urgency and unshakeable resolve.
In Pershing Square, the sentiment among the demonstrators was one of solidarity with the Venezuelan people and a firm rejection of U.S. interventionism. Julia Wallace, a labor activist at the rally, emphasized the need for the labor movement to take a political stand, stating that the working class in Venezuela and the U.S. share common interests against regime change policies.
The protest also served as a platform to challenge the administration’s claims that the invasion was a law enforcement action aimed at drug trafficking. Organizers argued that the middle-of-the-night seizure of a foreign leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, sets a dangerous precedent for global stability and constitutional limits. As the Trump administration announces plans for the U.S. to run Venezuela during a transition period, local organizers say they will not be silenced and have called for continued resistance.
President Trump provided a very different justification for the mission during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, where he framed the capture as a historic success for the Donroe Doctrine, his own update to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
He explained that the U.S. would oversee the country’s transition and ensure that its oil wealth is used to reimburse the American government for the costs of the military operation.
During an interview on Fox and Friends, the President shared several humorous details about the raid, noting that Maduro had a steel-reinforced safety room but was unable to lock himself in because U.S. forces bum-rushed the residence too quickly. He joked that the military was prepared to use massive blowtorches to cut through the doors, though they weren’t ultimately needed.
Trump also mentioned that the U.S. turned off the lights in Caracas to ensure the mission was dark and deadly for his opponents, and he teased the public by posting a photo of a blindfolded Maduro on social media, emphasizing that the operation went exactly as planned once the weather opened up.
