Protests in Southern California, elsewhere, take shape over U.S. attack on Venezuela

Protests against the actions the United States took in Venezuela overnight were being hastily planned Saturday across the nation and Southern California, including in downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga and elsewhere.

The U.S. carried out a military strike on Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and removing them from the country. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “going to run” Venezuela until a transition of power can occur and the U.S. will tap the country’s vast oil reserves as part of a rebuilding effort.

Protest organizers have characterized the strike as an outrageous escalation in a campaign of murder in international waters.

The activist group The ANSWER Coalition set up a website with nationwide protest locations and times.

“We need to take to the streets and say no to another endless war! The people of this country do not want another war! A U.S. war would cause death and destruction for the people of Venezuela,” the organization stated on its site.

“The war machine consumes an unimaginable amount of our tax dollars while working families struggle to make ends meet. In an all-out war with Venezuela, it will be working-class young people who are sent to kill and die …” it continued.

Local activist groups planned hastily arranged protests in Los Angeles on Saturday. At noon, Union del Barrio, the Community Self Defense Coalition and other organizations planned to denounce the U.S. attack. And at 2 p.m., CodePink and other organizations planned an “emergency” protest at Pershing Square.

In Rancho Cucamonga, a protest is scheduled at Foothill Boulevard and Haven Avenue for 4 p.m.

But not everyone is against the U.S. strike. It some places, it’s been cause for celebration.

In Miami’s Little Havana, flags flew and cheers rang out after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Maduro.

“To be able to celebrate the operation that the U.S. government carried out today is phenomenal,”  Jorge Jaen of the Venezuelan American Republican Club told Local10.com. “This doesn’t stop here because they took out Maduro. It’s like a table has four legs. There are still three more legs that need to go in order for Venezuela to really be free.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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