Caracas (theassemblymedia.com) — Venezuelan grassroots and anti-imperialist organizations gathered on Wednesday for a rally in solidarity with Palestine, firmly opposing the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel.
The rally took place in Plaza Bolívar, Caracas, where participants expressed the urgent need to defend Venezuelan sovereignty while raising their voices against the ongoing genocide in Palestine carried out by Israel, the intensified US blockade against Cuba and its military actions against Iran.
“The conditions in Gaza, in Palestine, and in the Middle East have not changed at all; therefore, there is absolutely no reason to reconsider reestablishing relations with the murderous, criminal Zionist state of Israel,” declared Leonardo López from the Solidarity Movement with Palestine.
Abel Mansour, an activist from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, emphasized that the Palestinian people remain “at the forefront of the global struggle for all the peoples of the world living under occupation.”
In early August, the governments of Israel and Venezuela agreed to provide consular services to citizens of both countries after 17 years of severed relations. While this move does not signify a full restoration of diplomatic ties, the government of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has engaged in discussions and meetings with Israeli representatives since June. This rapprochement began when Caracas welcomed an Israeli delegation following the June 24 double earthquakes, ostensibly to offer expertise in reconstruction efforts.
In January 2009, the administration of former President Hugo Chávez (1998 – 2013) severed all diplomatic ties with Israel in protest to the latest military assault in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of over one thousand Palestinians. Chávez was a staunch supporter of the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation against Israeli occupation.
His successor, President Nicolás Maduro, upheld the severed ties with Israel while consistently denouncing the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people. In January, Maduro was abducted by the United States military and transferred to a prison in Brooklyn to face “narcoterrorism” charges brought by the US Justice Department. These charges have been widely criticized by legal experts as politically motivated and lacking substantial evidence. The trial is scheduled for June 2027.
“It must be a consistent and unwavering part of our revolutionary process to refuse to recognize any state in the world that builds its existence on the deaths of others,” López told the crowd at the rally.
The activist likewise expressed support for the Cuban people, whose living conditions have worsened due to the Trump administration’s intensified economic asphyxiation. In recent months, Cuba has faced a strict US fuel embargo, secondary shipping sanctions, and new asset freezes targeting key state sectors.
“We witness how the murderous US state maintains a relentless siege against our brotherly Cuban people. We extend our profound solidarity to them,” López stated.
The solidarity campaigner questioned the recent oil agreement announced by Caracas and Washington for its potential repercussions on other nations, as it blocks sovereign crude exports and grants the US government control over 65 billion proven oil reserves. The deal establishes a 25-year investment framework and a 100-year operating concession.
“The question we must ask ourselves is: at what cost? How will history judge us if our well-being or our own benefit are the only things that matter to us?” López said regarding the Rodríguez government’s announcement that the bilateral agreement will bring $100 billion in private investments and $200 billion in tax revenue to finance social and economic recovery programs.
The energy agreement explicitly sidelines Cuba, Russia, and China. In December 2025, Venezuela ceased sending direct and subsidized oil shipments to Cuba after the US imposed a naval blockade off the Venezuelan coast targeting crude-carrying vessels entering and leaving the Caribbean nation. Following the military assault against Caracas early this year, Washington took control of the South American nation’s oil exports, seizing revenue into a US-controlled account.
“As long as a Cuban child is dying, as long as a Palestinian child is dying, the Venezuelan people cannot rest,” López expressed.
The rally also demanded the release of President Maduro and his wife, Congresswoman Cilia Flores, while rejecting Washington’s control over the country’s resources and main source of income. Venezuela has been under US economic sanctions since 2017 and an oil embargo since 2019.
Wednesday’s rally was attended by members of various grassroots organizations and movements, including the Anti-Imperialist Popular Front, the Movement for Solidarity with Palestine, the International Platform for Solidarity with Palestine, the Latin American League for Return to Palestine, the Simón Bolívar Coordinator and the Clara Zetkin Women’s Movement, as well as the National Front for the Struggle of the Working Class.