Consumer activism and absenteeism will get you nowhere. Same argument applies to Meta platforms, YouTube, Reddit and whatnot. Merely existing socially in capitalist platforms does not equate to supporting the ideology of those platforms. There are a myriad reasons why one would remain on twitter despite the current state of the platform (academia, for exampl, still relies a lot on it), and this high minded moralism won't change that.
Organizers estimated the crowd was at least 50,000, with some guessing higher, around 100,000. The big turnout is stunning because it was -9 degrees when the march began, temperatures that can quickly cause frostbite to exposed skin.
Demoralization and intimidation, basically. They did it once, and if they get away with it they can do it again, so everybody who sits on the presidential chair has to be extra careful while the military has to deal with such a high level of failure to their morale.
If there are no repercussions, this also opens up possibilities for more straightforward assassinations. Assassinating Maduro first would be too much, but now all lesser officials are on the table.
Before there's ever any land invasion there'll be a massive bombing campaign like in Libya and Yugoslavia to completely destroy the country's organisation and force capitulation. This is just another step in that escalation.
This is the usual Trump propaganda and "diplomacy" tactic. Build up to some explosive action that shocks the world, announce a complete and total achievement of their war goals prematurely and capitulation from the opposition, then continue negotiating the details quietly with the very much not defeated opposition for more limited war goals.
It serves as a way to disarm domestic opposition, as people will believe "it's already over" and so that there's nothing to be done and magnify and normalize the actions abroad with their media monopoly. Then the opponent has to catch up to them with their smaller media presence in the world stage and language barrier.
This has been a trend this whole presidency, the conflicts with Sheinbaum and Petro early on, tariffs on Brazil among others. People often act as though Trump is crazy and unpredictable, but he's actually pretty repetitive in his methods.
Vice President Delcy Rodríguez denounced that Washington's military operation seeks regime change and control of natural resources, demanding the immediate release of the presidential couple.
“We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The only president of Venezuela is President Nicolás Maduro,” emphasized Delcy Rodríguez.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez denounced on Saturday, January 3, the "unprecedented" military aggression by the United States against the country , perpetrated at 1:58 a.m., which culminated in the illegal kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores . Rodríguez affirmed that "there is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros."
The Vice President chaired a meeting of the National Defense Council in response to the military aggression against Venezuela, accompanied by high-ranking officials of the Bolivarian Government. In this context, Rodríguez recalled that the Venezuelan executive branch had already warned of an ongoing aggression under "false excuses and pretexts," emphasizing that "the masks have fallen."
The vice president emphasized that the true objective of this operation is "regime change in Venezuela," which would allow the United States "to seize our energy, mineral, and natural resources ." She called on the international community to be aware of this truth.
Representatives of the Venezuelan state's public powers, the high military command, and other key authorities participated in the National Defense Council meeting. From there, the vice president demanded the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, reaffirming the president as the "only president of Venezuela."
Rodríguez reported that the Citizen Security Agency and "all of Venezuela's national power" had been activated . This aims to reaffirm the defense of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, which he described as "savagely attacked." He also added that "the people of Venezuela have taken to the streets," following a previous call by Maduro to activate the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) and the Bolivarian militias.
Rodríguez also announced the activation of a decree signed by President Maduro , which has been submitted to the president of the Supreme Court of Justice for constitutional review by the Constitutional Chamber. This decree, declaring a state of "external unrest," is expected to receive judicial approval in the coming hours for immediate implementation.
The vice president highlighted the international support, noting that the community has "joined forces and raised its voices" from China, Russia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. She stated that governments around the world are shocked by this attack, which she attributed to "Zionist undertones," calling it "truly shameful."
Rodríguez quoted Simón Bolívar, the Liberator, from the Jamaica Letter: “The veil has been torn, we have seen the light, and they want to plunge us back into darkness. The chains have been broken, we have been free, and our enemies intend to enslave us again .” He emphasized that Venezuela “will never again be a colony of any empire.”
The vice president recalled the recent statements by President Maduro , who "just two days ago publicly in a television interview" reaffirmed the government's willingness to "maintain dialogue relations to address a constructive agenda . "
He pointed out that the US aggression "flagrantly violates Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations ," despite Maduro having extended his hand to the American people to establish "diplomatic, political, and institutional channels of communication" based on the well-being of the people, friendship, cooperation, and respect for international law.
Finally, the vice president called on the Venezuelan people to "remain calm" and face the situation "together in perfect national unity ." She urged that the "police, military, and popular fusion" become "a single body" to defend "our beloved Venezuela" in this "stage of defending our sovereignty and our national independence."
https://www.telesurtv.net/delcy-venezuela-presidente-nicolas-maduro/
Thing is, will it? The Venezuelan state still seems to be running itself, with vice president and ministers still occupying their posts. Maduro himself isn't some embodiment of PSUV and the party can continue existing and governing without him.
Simply kidnapping Maduro without leaving behind boots on ground does very little besides intimidation. That can work for extracting concessions, but not for ruling a country. Either the rumoured second attack is coming soon or this might be negotiation tactics for full privatisation of the oil but leaving the government be.
Of course, they censored teleSUR
Telesur is still up, just not the English mirror. It still has all languages available on their main website.
Update: vice president Delcy Rodriguez demands proof of Maduro's life from US. I wonder if this is enough for Venezuela to try a retaliatory strike at the navy.
From the sheer speed of the operation, I assume the helicopters were meant only for extraction, and infiltrated operatives had already captured Maduro beforehand.
Can't wait to see AOC vote against this.
They went real quick from silly strawhat pirate to nazi skull helmet.
Seems similar to how Trump is disengaging from Ukraine, unilaterally announcing negotiations with Hamas without consulting with "israel".
I doubt "israel" will hold up their end of the negotiations, as can already be seen by the reporting of increased bombing since the announcement.
US citizens seeing the US nuke the entirety of Mars surface to to kill or enslave every Martian and estabilish a galactic monopoly on Martian Unobtainium: "this must be about the Midterms!"