“Emergency protest” in Bloomington Sunday over U.S. action in Venezuela

Staff report

BLOOMINGTON — January 4, 2025

A coalition of Bloomington residents plans to rally Sunday afternoon outside the Monroe County Courthouse to protest the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The event, billed as an emergency protest titled “Hands off Venezuela,” is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, at the Monroe County Courthouse in downtown Bloomington. Organizers said the rally is in response to what they described as the “illegal bombing” of Caracas and the “kidnapping of a head-of-state,” and said speakers will also connect the international crisis to local issues including the cost of living, immigration enforcement, and health care funding.

The protest comes a day after the U.S. government announced that American forces captured Maduro in Caracas during what it described as a joint military and law-enforcement operation. International reaction has been swift, with multiple world leaders and governments criticizing the operation and warning it could destabilize the region.

In Indiana, U.S. Sen. Todd Young, a Republican, praised the mission in a post on X on Saturday, calling it “a day of new hope for the Venezuelan people” and saying he looked forward to hearing more about the administration’s plans. Progressive Democrats of America, a national progressive organization, issued a statement Saturday condemning the Venezuela operation and urging Congress to act under the War Powers Resolution to halt what it called unauthorized hostilities.

The Bloomington event is being organized by a group identifying itself as the “Bloomington Emergency Coalition Against War on Venezuela,” and the local group “Bloomington 50501.”

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