DENVER — Within 15 hours of the deadly U.S. military airstrikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, hundreds of people protested outside the Colorado State Capitol to call for accountability on U.S. soil.
Many protesters expressed concern that Saturday's strikes in Venezuela could escalate into a prolonged conflict, while others questioned President Donald Trump's intentions behind the capture of the country's president.
"While Maduro really is not a good guy, he's a terrible dictator, I don't think that Trump is going to help their people. I don't think that's his intent here," said Bethany Diamond, who joined the rally outside the Capitol on Saturday.
"My main worry is that we're going to be sucked into another prolonged 20-year war with no real end in sight at any point in time, with a disastrous exit like we had with, you know, the previous wars that we've been in," said protester Scott Pledger.
Jon Carelli, who rallied outside the Capitol in opposition to the U.S. military strikes, said he believes President Trump should have received authorization from members of Congress before capturing the Venezuelan president and his wife.
"Presidents are not getting congressional approval to go to war. We are just circumventing that, and that's a scary precedent," said Carelli.
Reactions from Venezuelan communities across the U.S. have been mixed; in Miami, some celebrated in the streets. One demonstrator said, "I can't tell you how happy I am. There are tears in my eyes. We have been waiting for this moment since 1998."
However, not all responses were celebratory. Omelys Marchan, a Venezuelan living in Denver, called the celebrations ignorant. She came to the U.S. with her family in 2023 to escape crime in Venezuela. Her husband has since been deported back to Venezuela near Caracas, where her father and uncles still live.
Marchan described to Denver7 the state of limbo her family is living in. She said they are uncertain about what will happen next and what President Trump is planning for Venezuelans.
"They are celebrating what exactly? The fall of people in Venezuela? The deaths that have happened?" Marchan said through a translator. "There are a lot of people saying 'Yes, we need someone to intervene,' but they don't know what an intervention is. They don't understand that what they're seeing, the poverty right now in Venezuela, is only going to lead to more poverty after this, and more need in the country."
