“While stealing our oil, Trump says we’re happy and dancing!” poster at the demonstration. (Comunes)
Caracas, August 5, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan grassroots movements have taken to the streets to oppose US control over the country’s resources and political affairs.
On Tuesday, around 150 people gathered in Caracas’ Plaza El Venezolano in a demonstration organized by a coalition of leftist political groups, including Comunes, the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), and the League of Socialist Workers (LTS).
“This is a protest against the imperialist plundering of our resources,” LTS’ Ángel Arias declared. “Anti-imperialism is not merely a discourse, it is a necessity for the Venezuelan working class.”
He decried that “the resources are far away from the Venezuelan people, with the decisions in Trump’s hands.”
Since the January 3 military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, Washington has seized control over the Venezuelan energy sector. Trump officials have been closely involved in an overhaul of the country’s Hydrocarbon Law and have brokered negotiations with Western corporations under the revised pro-business framework. Furthermore, Venezuelan export revenues, especially from crude sales, are deposited in a US Treasury account before an undisclosed portion is returned to Caracas at US officials’ discretion.
Arias criticized Venezuelan authorities for their “complicity,” including in reforming laws to favor Western capital. He also lambasted the Venezuelan far-right opposition for being “totally servile to Washington’s interests.”
Pedro Eusse, secretary-general of the CUTV trade union confederation, urged political unity against “colonial domination.”
“Beyond our political differences, we need to unite all those who oppose the imposition of a colonial protectorate,” he affirmed. “We need to have a common flag, which is to drive imperialism out of Venezuela.”
Speakers also condemned the US’ January 3 attacks and the continuing unilateral sanctions against the Caribbean nation.
A “Twitter storm” on Monday night placed #FueraTrumpdeVenezuela (“Trump out of Venezuela”) as the top X/Twitter trending hashtag in the country.
Tuesday’s protest followed a Saturday rally organized by the Popular Anti-Imperialist Front, a coalition of Caracas grassroots movements that called for “the defense of the Constitution and Hugo Chávez’s legacy.”
“We are on the streets to vehemently reject the presence of the US empire in our country,“ veteran organizer Juan Contreras from the Coordinadora Simón Bolívar told local media as over 100 protesters marched through the popular barrio of La Vega. “We are going to continue to mobilize and call on people to join our efforts.“
Contreras likewise criticized US-arbitrated negotiations between the acting Delcy Rodríguez government and an opposition faction. “If there is dialogue, it must be with the Venezuelan people and their organized movements.”
The Coordinadora Simón Bolívar, a historic collective from the combative 23 de Enero barrio, had previously denounced an alleged plot, orchestrated by the DEA, to assassinate grassroots leaders in working-class neighborhoods.
Both recent demonstrations also fiercely rejected the acting government’s recent rapprochement with Israel. Protesters held Palestinian flags and condemned the US ally’s genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.
An Israeli diplomatic and military mission, alongside several state-aligned NGOs, arrived in the Caribbean nation in the wake of the June 24 double earthquake. Rodríguez thanked the delegation and praised it as “highly trained and professional.” Former President Hugo Chávez severed ties with Tel Aviv in 2009. Both he and Maduro were stalwart supporters of the Palestinian cause, repeatedly excoriating Israel for its colonial occupation, war crimes, and genocide.
Venezuelan popular movements had previously mobilized on July 24 in a protest “against imperialism and Zionism” in Caracas’ Plaza Bolívar.
In addition to the public demonstrations, a group of Chavista political activists and intellectuals published the “Maracay Declaration” on July 28, defending the urgent need for national unity in “the struggle to recover independence.”
“In this hour, the homeland calls for unity and a national project that responds to the interests of the Venezuelan people, and we will work permanently to achieve these goals,” the statement read. Signees included former Vice President Elías Jaua and ex-congressman Tony Boza.
Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.