Several groups in Alabama are voicing their opposition to a war in Venezuela through protests across the state. Demonstrators assert that the U.S. invasion of the Latin American country early Saturday was an attempt to steal Venezuela’s oil and dominate the region, rather than a response to drug trafficking or an effort to restore democracy.
In the predawn hours on Saturday, the United States bombed Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, capturing the sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Approximately 100 groups across the U.S. announced protests against the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, with at least three of those protests taking place in Alabama cities including Huntsville, Birmingham, and Dothan.
In Huntsville, a coalition of progressive groups organized a protest at Big Spring Park, drawing about 50 attendees. Amy Price, an organizer with Huntsville 50501, expressed the group’s determination to stand against Trump’s actions, which she argues lacked congressional approval.
“Congressional approval is necessary, and an actual thoughtful action would be necessary,” Price stated. “This is not the way—invading and bombing the capital city of another country and killing innocent people. That’s not okay.”
While Price acknowledged that Maduro should not remain in power, she questioned the motivations behind Trump’s decision to capture him. “We also know that this is happening because the U.S. wants to control Venezuelan oil reserves, and that was made very clear when Trump came on the news and spoke about taking over the government of Venezuela and taking control of the oil industry there,” she explained.
Trump has indicated that the U.S. government would temporarily manage Venezuela and sell its “large amounts” of oil to other countries. Price criticized this approach, arguing that if Trump genuinely cared about the Venezuelan people, he would not deport those who fled Maduro’s regime.
“If we were truly concerned about the safety of the people of Venezuela who’ve come here, we would be protecting immigrants,” she said. “We would be thinking about their status in our country and caring for them.”
Price also expressed concern about the potential for further conflict in Venezuela. “Our country has a history of, unfortunately, this kind of action, and we are aware that wars to gain control in another country are not the answer,” she asserted. “They have not ended well in the past and have led to more bloodshed than we needed, harming populations and our men and women in the military. We don’t want to see this happen again.”
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