Approximately 200 people gathered at the Colorado Springs City Hall Sunday to protest President Donald Trump’s military actions against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured during a raid in Caracas on Saturday and faces charges in the U.S. related to drug trafficking. The event was organized by the local chapter of 50501, which has organized previous protests for a variety of progressive causes since Trump took office. Sunday’s protest was part of a national effort by 50501 activists, which saw similar “Hands Off Venezuela” protests in New York, Washington D.C., and other cities.
Colorado Springs residents carried signs opposing Trump and calling for an end to foreign intervention in Venezuela. Speakers at the roughly two-hour rally issued calls to free Maduro, release the Epstein files, and for military members to resist unlawful orders. Despite the outcry from progressive activists, elected officials have expressed support for regime change in Venezuela while questioning Trump’s authority to do so.
“Today is a moment to celebrate the ouster of the brutal socialist dictator of Venezuela, who has cruelly impoverished this once-prosperous country that sits on greater oil wealth than Saudi Arabia,” said Governor Jared Polis in a social media post. “I join our fellow Coloradans who have suffered so severely from this thug in calling for a democratic Venezuela where freedom and opportunity can again flourish. This is a time of great uncertainty, promise, and peril across dangerous political terrain as the regime’s Vice President and Minister of Interior seek to retain power with violence and repression. In July 2024, the people of Venezuela overwhelmingly elected as their president Unity Democratic Platform candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who succeeded the party’s candidate María Corina Machado after she was unlawfully disqualified from running. Now is the time for President-elect González to receive the support he deserves from the U.S. in cooperation with the international community and the people of Venezuela to assume his rightful place and powers as president. Venezuelans deserve to determine their own future and select their own government. Today, I stand with the Venezuelan people in Colorado and in Venezuela. Following the President’s remarks today and the actions taken by the United States overnight, it is not at all clear what the plan actually is, or even who is in charge. I am further troubled by the lack of Congressional oversight and engagement up to this point. It is crucial that the United States present a clear plan for what a transition to genuine democracy and self-rule entails, and involve Congress in planning next steps to help ensure stability and freedom for the long oppressed people of Venezuela. We cannot have a failed foreign policy misadventure; the Venezuelan people and region deserve better.”
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), who is currently campaigning for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Colorado governor in 2026, expressed concern over the actions of the Trump administration.
“As I have long said, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is an illegitimate, brutal leader who lost, and then stole, the 2024 elections,” said Bennet in a news release. “Nevertheless, as a member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, I have seen no evidence justifying the administration acting alone without Congressional authorization. I certainly have seen no justification for putting U.S. troops on the ground to ‘run the country’ or rebuild and exploit Venezuela’s oil infrastructure for our own economic purposes. The President’s top advisors describe today’s actions as a ‘law enforcement exercise.’ But today’s unprecedented use of military force and the President’s suggestion for the United States to run Venezuela are dangerously far beyond that. President Trump’s continued abandonment of basic principles of international law and order eventually will reverberate against America’s national interests; the only question is when. The Trump administration’s Venezuelan misadventure sets a precedent for authoritarian regimes around the world to intervene militarily under the guise of going after leaders accused of criminal conduct or simply to access valuable natural resources or critical technologies under their control.”
U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO) lauded Trump’s action. “Maduro is being brought to justice to answer for the terrorism and drug crimes he has committed against the United States,” he said in a social media post. “[Trump] is doing a tremendous job at ensuring America is safer from foreign drug lords who wish to inflict harm on our citizens.”
This morning, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores made their first appearance in a New York courthouse, pleading not guilty to narcoterrorism and weapons charges.
