The Daily Journal.- A group of activists, social leaders, and labor representatives gathered this Saturday in the Chacaíto sector of eastern Caracas to express their opposition to the maneuvers carried out by U.S. military aircraft in the Venezuelan capital and to denounce what they consider an erosion of national sovereignty.
The protest took place while two MV-22B Osprey aircraft of the United States Marine Corps conducted controlled overflights over Caracas and landed at the U.S. Embassy compound. The demonstrators displayed banners and signs to express their disagreement with the military operations and with the policies of Delcy Rodríguez’s government.
During the event, Santiago Arconada, member of the Citizen Platform in Defense of the Constitution, argued that the military maneuvers represented evidence of “the current protectorate situation” in which—according to his view—the country now finds itself.
For former minister Gustavo Márquez Marín, the overflights directed by the U.S. military demonstrate the White House’s dominance over Venezuela’s governing leadership and domestic politics.
“Donald Trump is really the one in power; we cannot deceive ourselves. And that has taken concrete form in the establishment of a government supervised from Washington, from where directives of every kind are issued.”
Meanwhile, labor leader Adelmo Becerra warned about the danger of the recurring presence of foreign military personnel and equipment becoming normalized among the population. According to Becerra, there is a risk that concepts associated with national sovereignty could lose relevance in the collective consciousness, especially among younger generations.
Becerra stressed the need to wage a cultural and ideological struggle in order to preserve historical memory and the principles of national self-determination.
“We cannot allow this to become normalized,” he emphasized.
Recent reporting confirms that protests took place in Caracas during the U.S. military exercise, with demonstrators criticizing the presence of American aircraft and raising sovereignty concerns.
