By Freeda Cathcart
Exclusive to The Roanoke Tribune
Hundreds of protesters gathered Monday January 5 at Thomas Paine Park and then marched to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan where the Madura’s arraignment took place.
“No U.S. War with Venezuela” protesters chanted. “One, two, three, four! Feed the people not the wars. No more coups, no more wars! Venezuela isn’t yours!”
When the No War protesters arrived outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan there were many police and media lining the sidewalks as well as a large group of protesters who were happy that Madura had been arrested by the U.S.
A protester that was happy with the U.S. arresting Madura was asked how she felt about the U.S. occupying her country, she responded that it was better than China, Russia and Cuba who had essentially been occupying their country for years. However she expressed concern that she also didn’t trust the U.S. president.
There were MAGA supporters waving flags that said “Trump 2028” and “Trump For King” outside the courthouse as well.
The Maduras’ pleaded not guilty. Barry J. Pollack, a Washington-based lawyer known for securing the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from prison and winning an acquittal for former Enron accountant Michael Krautz, is representing the Maduras. He didn’t ask for bail for the Maduras.
“It’s my job to assure this is a fair trial,” said U.S. District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee. “That’s my job, and that’s what I intend.” The next hearing is scheduled for March 17.
The recent arrest of Madura for drug trafficking is incongruent with the recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in a U.S. court of trafficking drugs. Prosecutors documented that from at least 2004 until 2022, drug-trafficking organizations moved hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine through Honduras to the U.S. under his protection.
There appears to be confusion about who is actually the leader in Venezuela. Venezuela’s vice president and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez was formally sworn in on Monday as the country’s interim president. While the U.S. president claimed that Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth were running the country with him being the ultimate controller of the country.
The U.S. President also claimed that he had notified the oil companies before the military strikes instead of informing Congress. So far the oil companies have denied being notified about the military strikes and have no plans to extract oil from Venezuela.
