More than 100 demonstrators protested outside the US Consulate in Johannesburg, condemning recent US military action in Venezuela and expressing solidarity with the Latin American nation
More than a hundred people gathered on Friday outside the United States Consulate in Johannesburg to protest against what they described as unilateral US military actions against Venezuela, voicing solidarity with the Latin American country and calls for respect for its sovereignty.
Organised along the street in front of the consulate, demonstrators carried banners reading “Hands Off Venezuela” and “Stop Imperialism,” and chanted slogans critical of perceived US hegemony and aggression.
Johannesburg resident Stephen Faulkner told reporters that protesters were “sick and tired of the bullying that’s taking place from the White House,” linking current opposition to a longer history of US interference in sovereign states. Faulkner cited historical interventions, including the 1983 invasion of Grenada, as part of what he described as a legacy of US “imperialism.”
The rally’s grievances were sharpened by events earlier this month, when US forces carried out a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, bringing them to the United States.
That operation, part of a broader intervention beginning on 3 January, involved US strikes in Caracas and has attracted international attention and controversy, with critics arguing it violates Venezuelan sovereignty and international law.
Indignation at the Johannesburg rally was visible in red T-shirts emblazoned with “Hands off Venezuela” and in homemade placards, including one carried by Ben Kotze that featured a caricature of US President Donald Trump alongside the words “End American Imperialism.”
Kotze, who also protested outside the US Embassy in Pretoria earlier this month against the same US actions, said his involvement was part of a broader call to action rather than a one-off demonstration.
For many participants, the rally was not just about distant geopolitics but about defending core principles of sovereignty and peace, with local activist Claire Ceruti saying that if the United States “tramples over Venezuela, then none of us are safe.” Ceruti warned that successive US moves risked dragging the world “closer to a cliff … of a broader conflict than what is already happening in the world.”
Placards at the demonstration featured slogans in both English and Spanish, while some protesters sang liberation songs from South Africa’s anti-apartheid era in a show of unity. Passing motorists slowed outside the consulate and honked in support, as the crowd maintained a spirited atmosphere despite the summer heat.
As the rally drew to a close, participants united in chants of “The people united will never be defeated,” underscoring their demand for an end to what they see as foreign interference in Venezuelan affairs. The Johannesburg protest comes amid similar demonstrations elsewhere, including rallies in Pretoria and international criticism from governments and civil society groups opposed to the US intervention in Venezuela.
