Left parties hold protests in Bengal against US actions in Venezuela

Kolkata, Jan 5 (PTI) The Left parties on Monday staged demonstrations in parts of West Bengal to protest what they described as US aggression against Venezuela.

The protest rallies were taken out by the CPI and CPI(ML) Liberation in Kolkata, Bardhaman and Nadia districts, with Left leaders claiming that the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his residence was a direct attack on the sovereignty of the South American country.

Supporters of the Left parties assembled near the Lenin statue at Dharmatala in central Kolkata and marched to the US Information Centre, where an effigy of US President Donald Trump was burnt.

They raised slogans against the US president and demanded respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty.

Similar demonstrations were also held in Bardhaman and Nadia districts.

Addressing the gatherings, CPI(ML) Liberation leaders alleged that US actions amounted to a "direct attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty and the right to self-determination of the people of Latin America".

They claimed that the US intervention was aimed at "controlling Venezuela’s oil resources under false pretexts" and warned that attempts to overthrow the elected government posed a threat to global peace.

The CPI Kolkata District Council also organised a protest march in Dhakuria in the southern part of the city.

CPI leaders slammed the US for its "aggression against Venezuela in violation of international laws".

Slogans were raised during the march demanding respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty.

Later, in a statement, both parties called for an end to US intervention in Venezuela and appealed for international solidarity for the South American country.

US special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his home in Caracas and flew him out of the country in the early hours of Saturday.

US President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face federal narco-terrorism charges in New York.

India has voiced "deep concern" over the US capturing Maduro and his wife in a military operation, and said it is closely monitoring the unfolding situation in the oil-rich South American country. PTI SCH BDC