Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

“The empire can do whatever it wants, but we are here to tell you that we are free, independent, and sovereign,” said one demonstrator.

Demonstrations demanding the United States release Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife continued Wednesday as thousands more people took to the streets of Caracas in a show of support for the abducted leftist leader.

Public workers led a march through Caracas, during which demonstrators chanted slogans—including “Free Maduro!”—while vowing to keep protesting until the socialist president and his wife, First Combatant Cilia Flores, return home.

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“Unity is not under discussion at this time,” Capital District Head of Government Nahum Fernández said during Wednesday’s rally. “The person who conspires against unity conspires against Venezuela.”

“The Venezuelan people are going to be in the streets and they’re going to have to hand Maduro over to the Venezuelans,” Fernández added.

Labor leader Anais Herrera demanded the US release Maduro “because he is our president and we want him back, we are in the streets and we will not rest.”

“The president prepared us for this and that is why we are in combat, in the streets with the Venezuelan working class,” she said.

Maduro and Flores were kidnapped by US special forces soldiers during a January 3 invasion backed by airstrikes and an armada of naval warships deployed along with thousands of troops off the Venezuelan coast. The US operation killed more than 100 people, including Venezuelan troops and civilians and over 30 Cuban soldiers and police officers.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has indicted Maduro for alleged conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, and possession of such weapons. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and has called himself a “prisoner of war.”

The kidnapping and charges came amid US bombing of alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, covert CIA operations, oil tanker seizures, and years of crippling economic sanctions.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez—who is serving as the US-backed acting president—said Wednesday that she had a long, courteous phone call with Trump, who expressed satisfaction with her move to release hundreds of prisoners held for political or national security offenses.

“This opportunity is for Venezuela and for the people of Venezuela to be able to see reflected a new moment where coexistence, where living together, where recognition of the other allows building and erecting a new spirituality,” Rodríguez said.

Trump took to his Truth Social network Wednesday to praise the “very good call” with Rodríguez.

“We are making tremendous progress, as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover,” the president wrote. “Many topics were discussed, including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security. This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be a spectacular one FOR ALL.”

Amid widespread international condemnation of his aggression, Trump has openly declared his intention to control and exploit Venezuela’s vast oil resources, dubiously claiming that the country owes the US for losses incurred by oil companies due to past petroleum nationalization.

Trump is scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon with Venezuelan opposition leader and recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado at the White House. To the chagrin of right-wing Venezuelans and much of his base, Trump has said that Machado “doesn’t have the support” to be the country’s next president.

On the streets of Caracas, one protester said Wednesday, “We say to Donald Trump, that miserable invader… [that] Maduro has already proven that he is innocent.”

“Nicolás is not a drug trafficker,” she added. “I don’t know why they haven’t returned him yet.”

Another demonstrator at the march said, “The empire can do whatever it wants, but we are here to tell you that we are free, independent, and sovereign.”

“You can meet with whomever you want,” the man said in a message meant for Trump, “but you must meet with who represents our government, and you must release Nicolás Maduro—our president—and Cilia Flores.”

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).