{"id":1242973,"date":"2026-01-06T13:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T18:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/?p=1242973"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:33:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:33:02","slug":"trump-maduro-arrest-venezuela-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/trump-maduro-arrest-venezuela-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents, Local Leaders Continue to React to U.S. Attack on Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The attack on Caracas and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro by U.S. forces set off an immediate reckoning in the DMV area. Protesters are pouring into the streets, security is tightening around federal buildings, and lawmakers are confronting the reality of an American operation that removed a foreign head of state and brought him to U.S. soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to New York following what the Trump administration described as a coordinated strike aimed at dismantling narco-terrorism networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice Department unsealed indictments charging the couple with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses. Officials said Maduro would make his first court appearance in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local leaders, organizers and residents alike are rallying in response to Saturday\u2019s attack on Venezuela and arrests, with mixed replies and emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n**FILE** A person holds a sign outside of the Cuban Embassy on Jan. 5 during a vigil, hosted by Code Pink, protesting the U.S. attack on Venezuela. (Cleveland Nelson\/The Washington Informer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m out here because the U.S., [President] Donald Trump, this fascist regime just launched a completely illegal, illegitimate invasion, kidnapping of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro,\u201d one protester said during a rally outside the White House. \u201cEvery decent person in this country needs to be sounding the alarm, speaking out, taking to the streets and saying, hands off Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others questioned the administration\u2019s priorities at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile we\u2019re cutting services to people who really need them in this country, we have no business spending money on invading other countries,\u201d another protester said. \u201cAs much as I dislike the president now, I don\u2019t want anybody from Venezuela coming here to kidnap him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just blocks away, the mood shifted entirely. At the Simon Bol\u00edvar statue and nearby gathering points, Venezuelan refugees and immigrants embraced, cried, and waved flags, calling the arrest a turning point after years of repression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo many emotions, happiness,\u201d Liliana Wright of Sterling, Virginia, said. \u201cLeaving country, separate families. It is hard to say how we feel right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others described personal loss under Maduro\u2019s rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery shocking and very emotional for me to finally see the demise and the conclusion of this brutal dictatorship,\u201d Harold Dams, a Maryland resident with family ties to Venezuela, said. \u201cWe lived firsthand what happened down there. We had family members killed, kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned. We had family members that died, and we couldn\u2019t say goodbye\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Baltimore, protests and celebrations unfolded simultaneously. Members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation rallied outside City Hall calling for Maduro\u2019s return and demanding an end to U.S. military action abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re calling for hands off Venezuela, no war in Venezuela,\u201d organizer Rachel Viqueira said. \u201cNo money for war. We want money for the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others rejected that view, saying the arrest was long overdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf people fully understood what this regime has been doing for so many years, they would better understand and be more supportive of what Trump is doing,\u201d Ronald Oribio said. \u201cThis is a situation that needed to come to a halt, and it is finally starting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For supporters, the moment felt unreal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was scared of waking up and seeing that it wasn\u2019t true,\u201d one Venezuelan woman said at a celebration near the White House. \u201cI would like to say thank you to Donald Trump. Maybe soon I\u2019m going to see my family again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For critics, the fear runs in the opposite direction, centered on what the operation signals for U.S. power abroad and what comes next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an illegal war,\u201d Sen. Tim Kaine said. \u201cThere is no legal justification that would authorize the president to depose another country\u2019s leader, seize its oil, and run the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaders, Experts Respond to Attacks on Venezuela<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On Capitol Hill, the operation drew both praise and alarm. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n**FILE** Sen. Chris Van Hollen is one of the local leaders speaking out against the U.S. attack on Venezuela, coordinated by President Donald Trump, leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. (Robert R. Roberts\/The Washington Informer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen woke up Saturday and, like everyone else, learned of the early morning United States military operation in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Hollen said the American people did not ask for a war with Venezuela, and Congress did not authorize one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a sharply worded statement following U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and the seizure of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife, Van Hollen said Trump had committed \u201ca grave abuse of power\u201d by launching an act of war without congressional approval and without presenting evidence of an imminent threat to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPresident Trump has put our troops in harm\u2019s way, and he has not provided a clear, fact-based rationale for these actions, nor the long term strategy following these strikes,\u201d the Maryland senator said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris (R) applauded the move as a crackdown on drug trafficking, while Democrats across the region questioned its legality and warned of long-term consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weapons expert Jim Ortte said the administration appears to be framing the mission as a law enforcement action rather than a declaration of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey took DEA agents with them during the operation, so you could say he is an indicted narco-terrorist,\u201d Ortte said. \u201cThat distinction matters under the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next Steps for Venezuela, Local Concerns <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As emotions spilled into the streets, security tightened across Washington. The U.S. Secret Service blocked roads near the former Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown after a reported threat, prompting K-9 sweeps and temporary closures. District officials said there was no active threat but confirmed heightened coordination with federal agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city had been briefed on the situation and was monitoring developments closely. Advocates estimate more than 26,000 Venezuelans live in the Washington metropolitan area, a number believed to be higher due to recent migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Longtime D.C. radio host Patricia De Lima said uncertainty has settled over many families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy family is in Venezuela, my friends are in Venezuela, and now it\u2019s like, what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump said the United States would temporarily oversee Venezuela until a transition is established and confirmed that U.S. officials would continue targeting alleged drug trafficking operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration was \u201cat war against drug trafficking organizations,\u201d adding that it was not a war against Venezuela itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Trump warned Venezuela\u2019s interim leader, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, that failure to cooperate would bring consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf she doesn\u2019t do what\u2019s right, she is going to pay a very big price,\u201d Trump said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the president\u2019s threats, people like De Lima still worry about her loved ones in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a huge deal,\u201d she said, \u201cbut that doesn\u2019t mean much for the ordinary Venezuelan because the people in power are still there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protesters and security forces have been mobilized in response to the U.S. military operation that removed Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and brought him to New York to face charges of narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, and weapons offenses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2327,"featured_media":1242974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_primary_brand":0,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","nota_seo_page_title":"Maduro's Arrest Triggers Mixed Reactions in DMV Area","nota_seo_page_description":"Protests and reactions in the DMV area following the US attack on Caracas and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.","newspack_featured_image_position":"small","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30817,45775,20],"tags":[87969,1154,3989,87975,69579,78493,29735,36024,87995],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"nota":[],"coauthors":[53509],"class_list":["post-1242973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-stacy-m-brown","category-world","tag-cilia-flores","tag-donald-trump","tag-justice-department","tag-nicolas-maduro-2","tag-sen-chris-van-hollen","tag-sen-tim-kaine","tag-stacy-m-brown","tag-trump-administration","tag-u-s-forces","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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