Emergency protest at US embassy in Pretoria in solidarity with Venezuela called for January 8

Via the South African Communist Party

Wednesday, 7 January 2026:- A broad coalition of South African trade unions, political formations, civil society organisations and solidarity movements are holding an emergency picket tomorrow, Thursday 8 January 2026, outside the US embassy in Pretoria to condemn the US military invasion of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

This emergency action marks the first coordinated public protest in South Africa against the current US military assault on Venezuela and reflects the growing outrage among South Africans at Washington’s escalating lawlessness.

The actions of the US are in clear violation of international law, the UN Charter, and the sovereignty of an independent nation. The US is behaving like a gangster on the international stage, and as peace-loving peoples we are appalled by its actions.

Details of the protest are as follows:

Date: Thursday, 8 January 2026

⁠Time: 12h00

⁠Venue: US embassy, 877 Pretorius Street, Arcadia, Pretoria

⁠Media & Enquiries: 084 211 9988

The protest is lawful and we would like to thank the relevant authorities for swiftly facilitating this urgent gathering and enabling tomorrow's emergency protest.

The action is jointly convened by Cosatu, Nehawu Popcru, SACP, YCLSA, Africa4Palestine, South Africa Latin America Association (SALA), Anti-Fascist International (South Africa Chapter), and other allied formations.

Members of the media are invited to cover the protest and members of the public are invited to attend.

We call on South Africans – workers, students, faith communities, activists, and all peace-loving people – to join this emergency protest and make their voices heard.

This protest is not only about Venezuela. It is about defending international law, national sovereignty, and the right of peoples to determine their own future without bombs, sanctions, kidnappings, or foreign interference from the US regime. We reject the US’s ongoing policy of war, coercion, sanctions, and regime-change operations against poorer countries or those of the Global South.

Venezuela, a country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world, is being targeted not because it has failed its people, but because it has refused to hand over and surrender its sovereignty, resources, and political independence to US corporations and US imperial interests.

Yesterday it was Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya. Today it is Cuba, Venezuela. Tomorrow it could be any of us.