Massachusetts Peace Action condemns Illegal Regime Change War on Venezuela
Residents Rally Today at Park Street Station, Boston, Holyoke Veteran’s Memorial Park and Northampton City Hall at 3pm
For Immediate Release:
(Boston, Greenfield, Northampton) Last night, President Trump ordered a direct U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the capture of the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Massachusetts Peace Action condemns these reckless, illegal, and violent acts of war and regime change.
Massachusetts residents will gather in downtown Boston at Park Street Station at 3pm to demand an immediate halt to hostilities and that the United States abide by the rule of law.
Organizers warn that the attack represents not only a grave danger to Venezuelan civilians and U.S. service members, but a broader collapse of constitutional restraints on presidential war-making. Organizers in Western Massachusetts are planning rallies at Northampton City Hall and Holyoke’s Veterans Memorial Park, also scheduled for 3pm on January 3rd.
“This act of regime change war, the attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its president, is the latest authoritarian outrage from the Trump Administration,” said Brian Garvey, the Executive Director of Massachusetts Peace Action. “The same disregard for the Constitution evident in this attack on Venezuela is present in Trump’s warrantless ICE raids, his mass detentions, and threats against lawmakers. A government that abandons law overseas will not respect it at home.“
The administration’s move follows a disturbing pattern of violence carried out without congressional authorization or public accountability. Recent U.S. strikes in the Caribbean—including reported “double-tap“ missile attacks on disabled vessels where survivors were allegedly targeted after an initial strike—have horrified observers and raised urgent legal and moral questions.
“We are watching the normalization of killing and regime change,” said Susan McLucas of Somerville, who plans to attend the rally. “When injured people clinging to wreckage can be targeted by a second strike, something fundamental has gone wrong. When innocent and lawful immigrants are disappeared and harshly removed from their families and friends, something is outrageously wrong!”
“This war is another sign that this country is sliding into authoritarianism,” said Paul Shannon, one of the rally’s organizers. “When one person decides who lives and who dies, who is guilty and who is forgiven, the rule of law no longer exists. We have seen where this road leads—from Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq to Yemen—and the cost is measured in lives.”
Legal experts note that launching hostilities against Venezuela without congressional approval violates both international law and the U.S. Constitution. Members of Congress from both parties have introduced War Powers Resolutions to block unauthorized military action and reassert Congress’s constitutional role.
Today’s rally at 3pm at Park Street Station in Boston, MA. It is open to the public and the media are encouraged to attend.