Chavismo mobilized thousands of Venezuelans on Tuesday in defense of national symbols and against the US pressure strategy in Venezuela. Proposed as an “anti-imperialist” and “defense of sovereignty” action, the rally was centered in Caracas and similar versions of it in several cities. The march, called by Venezuela’s ruling United Socialist Party, gathered around two central references: the eight-star flag and Simón Bolívar’s sword, with the aim of sending a message of unity inside and outside the country. The crowd, wearing hats and waving Venezuelan flags, gathered amid chants calling for a “sovereign homeland.” The march was accompanied by hundreds of uniformed soldiers, outnumbering civilians in some places.
One of the participants, Jocelyn Baez, 32, an international relations student who works in the vice president’s office, expressed her support for “Maduro and his struggle.” Baez says she is prepared to engage in armed struggle in the event of an attack, and confirms that she has received the necessary training to do so “responsibly.” “Staying idly by does not mean defending the country.” For the public servant, Trump wants to establish “hegemony” and that is why he “declared that a peaceful country that only wants peace is a terrorist.”
“Christ, the first socialist of humanity,” read a banner held up by a uniformed man among the crowd gathered in Plaza Venezuela, at the head of the march. “Long live the Bolivarian Fatherland!” One of the event hosts spoke into the microphone. “We are not a threat,” he shouted, “we are hope.” At the same time, on state television, they highlighted the spirit of this “military, police and popular” march to demand “the unity of the country” against “imperialism’s intention to seize the natural resources” of Venezuela.
Moraima Pérez, 65, an administrator and social worker, defended during the march that Venezuelans are “a people with the right to freedom” and that they “do not depend on what the United States decides.” The family of this public employee is in Spain and these days they have received concerned calls about what is happening in the country. “I told my sister: ‘Everything is quiet here,'” he says. Peres confirms that he is not afraid: “We will continue to go out to the streets as much as we can to continue this peace, and let it be what God has given us.”
The mobilization includes the deployment of the party’s new basic structure, the so-called Comprehensive Bolivarian Community Orders, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which were created to operate and control activities considered “destabilizing” in the neighbourhoods.
In any case, Chavismo’s actions in the streets contradict the real popular support it maintains. Analysts estimate that about 80% of Venezuelans currently reject the Maduro regime, compared to 20% who still support him.
The street is moving as the conflict with the United States escalates and uncertainty increases. Washington on Monday officially announced the designation of the so-called Sun Cartel – which refers to Nicolas Maduro and the military leadership – as a foreign terrorist organization, in parallel with an unprecedented naval and air deployment in the Caribbean.
Chavismo responded to this new pressure measure with a statement from the Foreign Ministry calling the measure a “hoax,” a “despicable lie,” and a “new attempt at regime change.” Venezuela’s ruling party is putting the alleged persecution of the cartel – whose existence has come into question – into a strategy to justify eventual intervention in Venezuela.
Maduro used his weekly program broadcast on Monday evening on VTV, the state’s main radio station, to link Tuesday’s mobilization to the narrative of the external siege. Without directly mentioning the Sun Cartel, he stressed that despite the sanctions and the US military deployment, “they will not be able to defeat Venezuela” and described the country as “invincible” in the face of the “psychological, political and diplomatic wars” that Washington is waging.
For now, all scenarios appear open. Despite the strategy of pressure and psychological warfare against the regime, Trump opened the door to direct dialogue with Nicolas Maduro. On the same day that Washington officially designated Chavista as the leader of a foreign terrorist organization, the Republican told his team about his intention to make a call between the two, according to the news portal Axios. So far, a specific date has not been set for the talk, according to the same sources.
Sources familiar with the situation in Venezuela do not rule out any option, but they believe that it is “highly” unlikely that Maduro will leave power. They explain that for this to happen, an internal division would be necessary, which does not appear to be happening at the moment. “You have to know them well,” says one such source. “In Chavismo there are people who are willing to die defending their positions.”
Meanwhile, Venezuelan airspace remains almost empty on flight tracking maps, reflecting successive cancellations that have reduced activity to a minimum. Other companies operating the Madrid-Caracas route joined the first suspensions after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert on Friday to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela due to a “potentially dangerous situation” linked to increased military activity in the region.
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