Protests in Mexico following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States on Saturday varied in mood between celebration and criticism, as President Claudia Sheinbaum and other Latin American leaders condemned the intervention.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. carried out a military operation on Venezuelan territory in which they captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and charged them with crimes related to “narco-terrorism” conspiracy.
By Saturday afternoon, people in cities across Mexico, including Mexico City, Acapulco, León and San Cristobal de las Casas, joined protests condemning Trump’s intervention in Venezuela.
In Monterrey, Nuevo León, protesters voiced their opposition to the capture of Maduro in Plaza de las Banderas (Flag Square), chanting slogans such as “Yankees Out” and “We Are Venezuela.”
However, several Venezuelans residing in Mexico publicly praised the news.
In Monterrey’s Plaza Bolívar, a group gathered to celebrate Maduro’s capture by the U.S. Families carried national flags and signs showing their support for the overthrow of the longstanding president, while some displayed support for Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
“We learn so much from traveling to so many countries and realizing that no matter how much we adapt to places, it will never be like our homeland,” the newspaper La Jornada reported Alba Ruiz, one of the Venezuelan demonstrators, as saying.
Not all Venezuelans in Mexico shared this unequivocal support. Other contingents took a more nuanced stance, welcoming Maduro’s removal while opposing U.S. intervention in Latin American affairs.
Response in Mexico City
Hundreds of Venezuelans residing in Mexico City marched along central avenues and outside the U.S. Embassy on Sunday to demand a peaceful political transition in Venezuela. Many celebrated the potential end to the dictatorship of the last 13 years under Maduro (and 26 in total) and the first step toward a free Venezuela.
The march in Mexico City was part of the global #HastaElFinal (Until the End) movement, a slogan that has long been used by Venezuelan pro-freedom activists.
In response to the protests, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City warned of possible adjustments to visa appointments scheduled for Monday, Jan. 5.
Meanwhile, the Mexican government issued a statement expressing its condemnation of the United States’ military actions in Venezuela on Saturday, emphasizing its support for the principles of the UN Charter.
“We categorically reject intervention in the internal matters of other countries,” Sheinbaum reiterated during her daily press conference on Monday.
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Spain and Mexico have issued a joint statement rejecting the United States’ military operation in Venezuela.
With reports from López-Dóriga Digital, La Silla Rota, Reuters and CBC News
