Pentagon GPS jamming blocks Venezuela peace conference delegates

An emergency news conference was held on Dec. 10 at the International Action Center in New York City to protest the latest war moves against Venezuela. The same day, in an act of piracy, U.S. armed forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker.

Speakers at the news conference denounced the Trump regime’s attempted sabotage of the People’s Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace in Our America. The news conference was chaired by Sara Flounders of the IAC. 

Many delegates planning to attend the peace conference in Caracas were prevented from traveling by the Pentagon’s jamming of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, which disrupted airline flights to Venezuela. (See: Venezuela sees surge in GPS jamming amid U.S.. military buildup, forcing flight cancellation.)

Some U.S. delegates were able to get through this blockade while others participated in the news briefing. The GPS jamming follows Trump’s illegal declaration of a “no-fly zone” over the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty. So is Trump’s killing of over 80 people in the Caribbean.

William Camacaro, co-founder of the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle in New York, denounced Trump’s actions as criminal. “This is a very critical moment,” said Camacaro, who is also co-founder of the Venezuelan Solidarity Network and co-coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice. “The only thing we see is aggression.”

Camacaro reminded everyone that María Corina Machado — the corporate media’s darling who was bestowed the Nobel Peace Prize— supported the 2002 coup that tried to overthrow the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. 

Suzanne Adely, the president of the National Lawyers Guild, said of her visits to Venezuela, “Every trip was an inspiration.” She described her role as an election observer and denounced U.S. interference.

Drea Sommers, of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, condemned the threats and “outrageous remarks of Trump,” who “has authorized the extrajudicial killing of at least 83 people.” She demanded the investigation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for these crimes.

Same playbook as the CIA coup in Chile

Roger Wareham, a member of the International Secretariat of the December 12th Movement and also a NCBL member, compared the current efforts to overthrow Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro with Kissinger’s campaign against Chilean President Salvador Allende.

“Make the economy scream,” said Kissinger, which is what the U.S. has done with its sanctions against Venezuela. Wareham noted the irony of Trump’s hijacking of an oil tanker on International Human Rights Day.

He reminded people of how Venezuela supplied free heating oil to poor people in the United States beginning in 2005. U.S. economic sanctions gradually strangled the program, ending most deliveries by 2010 and shutting it down completely by 2013. 

Wareham told the people of Venezuela, “We got your back.” He emphasized that Nicolás Maduro is the “one and only president of Venezuela.”

Margaret Kimberley of the Black Alliance for Peace and Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report attacked Washington’s efforts to destroy the Venezuelan economy and the stealing of CITGO. She denounced Trump’s efforts to revive the Monroe Doctrine — named after a slave owner — and told Venezuela that “you can’t be friends with China or Russia.”

Corinna Mullin, of the U.S. Peace Council, said although its members were blocked from attending the People’s Assembly in Caracas, “we’re there in spirit.” Other speakers who were blocked from attending included Daniel from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, who declared, “International solidarity is alive and well.” He emphasized that Nicolás Maduro is the “one and only president of Venezuela.

Also blocked from going to Caracas were Abdullah of the Sudanese Resistance Front and Jonas of MASS — Mutual Aid and Scientific Socialism. Both denounced the war drive against Venezuela. So did a representative of the Palaver Collective.

Despite Trump’s propaganda campaign, 70% of people in the U.S. have said they’re against invading Venezuela.