Chavismo mobilized thousands of Venezuelans on Tuesday in defense of national symbols and against the pressure tactics the United States is employing in Venezuela. The demonstration was framed as an “anti-imperialist” act and a “defense of sovereignty,” centered in Caracas with similar events in several other cities. The march, organized by the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), focused on two central symbols: the eight-starred tricolor flag and the sword of Simón Bolívar, aiming to send a message of unity both within and outside the country. The crowd, wearing caps and waving Venezuelan flags, gathered chanting slogans invoking “sovereign homeland.” Hundreds of uniformed military personnel accompanied the demonstration, outnumbering civilians in some areas.
One of the participants, Joselyn Báez, 32, an International Relations student and employee of the Vice Presidency, expressed her support for “Maduro and his struggle.” Báez says she is prepared to take up arms if an attack occurs and asserts that she has received training to do so “responsibly.” “Standing idly by is failing to defend the country.” According to the public employee, Trump wants to establish a “hegemony” and that is why “he has declared a peaceful country that only wants peace to be a terrorist organization.”
“Christ, the first socialist of humanity,” read a sign held aloft by a uniformed man amidst the crowd gathered around Plaza Venezuela, the march's starting point. “Long live the Bolivarian homeland!” one of the event's organizers shouted from the microphone. “We are not a threat, we are hope!” he yelled. Meanwhile, on state television, they emphasized the spirit of this “military-police-popular” march to reaffirm the “unity of the country” against “imperialism's intention to seize Venezuela's natural resources.” The majority of those in attendance were public employees, police cadets, officers from all branches of the police force, and military personnel.
Moraima Pérez, 65, a manager and social worker, defended at the march that Venezuelans are “a people who have the right to freedom” and that “they don’t depend on what the United States decides.” This public employee’s family is in Spain, and these past few days she has received calls expressing concern about what is happening in the country. “I told my sister, ‘Everything is calm here,’” she says. Pérez asserts that she is not afraid: “We will continue taking to the streets as long as we can to maintain this peace, and whatever God decides, will be done.”
The mobilization includes the deployment on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the party's new grassroots structure, the so-called integral Bolivarian community commands, created to operate and control activities considered"destabilizing" in the neighborhoods.
The actions of Chavismo in the streets, however, contrast sharply with the actual popular support it maintains. Analysts estimate that, currently, around 80% of Venezuelans reject the Maduro regime, compared to 20% who still support it.
The streets are stirring as the clash with the United States escalates and uncertainty grows. This Monday, Washington officially designated the so-called Cartel of the Suns—which points to Nicolás Maduro and the military leadership—as a foreign terrorist organization, coinciding with an unprecedented naval and air deployment in the Caribbean.
Chavismo responded to this new pressure tactic with a statement from the Foreign Ministry, calling the measure a"fabrication," a "vile lie," and "another attempt at regime change." The Venezuelan government frames the persecution of the alleged cartel—whose existence is questionable—as part of a strategy to justify a potential intervention in Venezuela.
Maduro used his weekly program on Monday night on VTV, the main state broadcaster, to link Tuesday's mobilization to this narrative of external siege. Without directly mentioning the Cartel of the Suns, he asserted that, despite the sanctions and the US military deployment,"they will not be able to defeat Venezuela" and defined the country as "invincible" in the face of Washington's "psychological, political, and diplomatic warfare."
At this point, all scenarios seem open. Despite the pressure and psychological warfare strategy against the regime, Trump has opened the door to direct dialogue with Nicolás Maduro. On the same day that Washington officially designated the Chavista leader as a foreign terrorist organization, the Republican told his team of his intentions to arrange a call between the two, according to the news website Axios. As of now, no firm date has been set for the conversation, according to the same sources.
Sources familiar with the situation in Venezuela are not ruling out any option, but consider it “highly” unlikely that Maduro will relinquish power. They explain that for that to happen, an internal division would be necessary, which, at the moment, does not appear to be occurring. “You have to know them well. Within Chavismo, there are people willing to die to defend their positions,” suggests one of these sources.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan airspace remains almost empty on flight tracking maps, reflecting the successive cancellations that have reduced activity to a minimum. Following the initial suspensions after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert on Friday advising"extreme caution" when flying over Venezuela due to a "potentially hazardous situation" linked to increased military activity in the area, other airlines operating the Madrid-Caracas route have also suspended flights.
