Pro-Nicolas Maduro protesters who turned up in Times Square and outside the Brooklyn federal lock-up where the former Venezuelan leader is being held were organized by hardcore left-wing group The People’s Forum, which has close ties to China.
The group — also behind anti-Israel demonstrations around the nation — called for “emergency protests nationwide” shortly after President Trump announced Saturday US forces had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“This war is not about drug trafficking, it is not about democracy — it is about stealing Venezuela’s oil and dominating Latin America,” said a People’s Forum press release, announcing protests at Times Square and the White House Saturday.
Maduro is widely accused of stealing the last presidential election in Venezuela in 2024 after its results showed him losing by a landslide.
Maduro and Flores were flown to New York City by US forces, where the indictments against them were issued, and arraigned Monday on drug trafficking and other charges in Manhattan federal court.
On Sunday, pro-Maduro protesters clashed with jubilant Venezuelans who demonstrated outside the detention center where Maduro and his wife are being held.
“This is an unprecedented crime against a sovereign nation and a warning of how far this administration is willing to go,” said the People’s Forum in a post on its X account announcing the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) protest.
One anti-Maduro protester, who left Venezuela during Maduro’s repressive regime, called the pro-Maduro protesters “fools.”
“They know nothing about Maduro,” Manuel, 38, who attended the protest outside the MDC.
“I don’t know why they are here. They are just strange and stupid.”
The People’s Forum also organized protests alongside one of is affiliate groups, ANSWER Coalition, in Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, Tennessee and many other states.
The Marxist People’s Forum works closely with the Communism-aligned Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), with a number of the same people serving on the boards of both groups.
On Monday The PSL held a pro-Maduro protest, with around 25 people inside a park near Federal Plaza where Maduro was arraigned. They held a large banner that read “No War on Venezuela.”
The protesters chanted: “We want justice, you say how? Release Maduro right now.”
Elias Rodriguez, who allegedly gunned down two people outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC last year had previously been linked to the PSL.
The People’s Forum has long been financed by Neville Roy Singham, an American tech millionaire and extreme leftist who is based in Shanghai. Singham’s anti-war activist wife Jodie Evans is a member of the People’s Forum board, according to the group’s public filings.
But the group’s funding may be running out. It recently called on its supporters to contribute to purchasing a permanent “physical home,” raising nearly $47,000 towards a $2 million funding goal, according to their website.
“Our initial donation is running out, and that left us with a choice,” says the group in a post on their website. “Do we run out the clock until the end of our lease and then fold up operations? Or do we do something even bigger and bolder, counting on the community we’ve all built to make it happen?
Members of the group have also organized pro-Cuba and pro-Maduro seminars at their current offices in Chelsea.
A day after Hamas terrorists went on a bloody rampage killing 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, the People’s Forum also organized mass protests in New York City. Protesters burned Israeli flags and held up images of swastikas on their phones during the protests.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/05/us-news/marxist-peoples-forum-organized-pro-maduro-protests/
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