Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bogota, the capital of Colombia, on Wednesday to decry threats from the United States to expand its military campaign into their territory in the name of combating drug trafficking, after last weekend's deadly raid on Venezuela.
Wednesday's rally took place at Bolivar Square in the heart of downtown Bogota at the call of Colombian President Gustavo Petro after U.S. President Donald Trump said a U.S. military operation against Colombia "sounds good". Such demonstrations were also held in other cities across Colombia.
U.S. military forces carried out a series of attacks and bombings in Caracas and other parts of Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, and forcibly seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, before putting them in custody in New York.
"We are now witnessing the resurgence of American imperialism throughout Latin America and many parts of the world. The United States is not only reshaping its imperialism, but also disregarding the fundamental principles of international law," said Cristian Zuluaga, a protester.
"They always consider us Latin American countries inhuman or more precisely, they see us as their backyard. They believe our wealth belongs to them. They believe we will always be subservient, yielding, never rebellious. But we have courageous people here," said Claudia Bejarano, another protester.
U.S. attack on Venezuela, which Trump has admitted is to secure "total access" to Venezuela's massive oil reserves and subsequent threats to Colombia, has sent shock waves through Latin America. Demonstrators this week hit the streets of Europe and the Middle East to condemn the U.S. aggression.
"We are not slaves to anyone, nor are we above anyone. We share the same land, the same territory. All we can do is to unite, engage in dialogue, and reach a necessary peace agreement," said Maria Mayorga, a demonstrator.
"The whole world has responded. Protests have also taken place in Europe. Protests have also occurred in countries that were once invaded by the United States, such as Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, and Baghdad," said Jhon Fredy Sanchez, another demonstrator.
Thousands protest in Colombia as anger builds over US intervention in internal affairs
