MORNING HEADLINES | About 75 Charleston-area activists gathered on a chilly Sunday afternoon to protest the weekend’s U.S. military action in Venezuela that led to the deportation of its president and his wife to New York.
They chanted “Hey, hey, ho ho; Donald Trump has got to go” and “Trump wants war; Hands of Venezuela’s oil” at the rally at Marion Square. While a city ordinance says gatherings of 25 or more people must be permitted, there’s an exception for news-related protests within 48 hours of a breaking event.
Nevertheless, Charleston police were on standby with at least six officers with police vehicles and three on horseback. A block away, another five officers and police vehicles were prepositioned.
Dr. Annie Andrews, a Charleston County pediatrician running as a Democrat against GOP U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham this year, called on Congress to assert its oversight authority.
“(Venezuelan President) Nicolás Maduro is a brutal dictator. No one should defend him,” she said Sunday. “But what Trump and his cronies like Lindsey Graham are pushing has nothing to do with democracy or helping the Venezuelan people.
“They’re chomping at the bit to seize Venezuelan oil and dish out the profits to their billionaire buddies. Using American power to line private pockets. We’ve seen this before.”
While many GOP leaders from South Carolina praised Saturday’s incursion and bombing in Caracas, Democratic congressional candidate Mac Deford, who is running for an open Charleston-area seat, also criticized the action in a statement: “The president has no legal justification under U.S. law or international law to launch military action or force regime change without congressional authorization. Ignoring Congress is not decisive leadership. It is unlawful, dangerous, and destabilizing for our country and our standing in the world.” — Andy Brack
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