San José Against War held a protest on Tuesday objecting United States President Donald J. Trump’s administration actions with Venezuela, Iran and Cuba, demanding the U.S.withdraw from future altercations with Cuba and Venezuela’s government, as well as removing its military from Iran.
San José Against War is a grassroots activist organization, which advocates against U.S. war and militarism, also advocating for divestment from war, according to its official Instagram account.
The protest was promoted online and took place on the corner of East San Fernando and South Fourth streets where about 30 attendees listened to organizers speeches about U.S. military involvement in Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.
Speakers at the protest voiced concerns about the U.S. government blocking Cuba from certain financial and import systems making transactions difficult, adding to an ongoing economic crisis with Cuba.
The Spartan Daily attempted to interview speakers at the protest, but the organization did not provide comments or names.
The U.S. Department of State has a “Cuba Restricted List,” which is a list of restricted entities and international institutions that have prohibited direct financial transactions by the Cuban Assets Control regulations, according to the U.S. Department of State.
On Jan. 29, Trump issued an executive order imposing a fuel blockade on Cuba, imposing trade tariffs on imports of oil from third countries to Cuba, according to a Feb. 12 United Nations news release.
UN experts see this as “a serious violation of international law and a grave threat to a democratic and equitable international order,” according to the same source.
Chants yelling “shame!” echoed throughout the streets in response to Trump’s actions in Cuba, and protesters waved signs with angry expressions that focused on the Trump Administration’s actions in Cuba, Iran and Venezuela.
Actions of Cuba’s government directly threaten the safety, national security and foreign policy of the U.S, according to the White House.
Trump has also suggested a “friendly take over” of Cuba, according to AP News, which was followed by chants of “It’s a Cuban revolution” and “Hands off Cuba” during the protest.
Priya-Lyn Singh, a second-year forensic science student, said attending protests is a good way of acknowledging current international affairs.
“Shit’s fucked right now on a multitude of levels,” Singh said. “You see it every day and it’s like, people don’t realize how much or how imperial the U.S really is because we learned about it in history and you think, oh, it’s history, it happened decades ago, but it’s still happening today.”
On Saturday, Operation Epic Fury took place, which involved the U.S. and Israel launching coordinated attacks across Iran with the goal to destroy Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, according to a Mar. 2 article by Newsweek.
After five days, 787 Iranians have died, according to a Mar. 3 article from Independent.
Six American troops have died in an attack from Iran on Kuwait, according to a Mar. 4 article by AP News.
Protesters chanted “long live international solidarity,” “an anti-war revolution” and “a Palestinian revolution” while passing cars honked in approval.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s leaders are “paying in blood” for all of its previous crimes against the U.S., according to a White House press briefing on Wednesday.
Marcel Knightly, a member of San José Against War, said the country has its priorities askew considering the release of the Epstein files.
“I am just so sick and tired of the constant forever war that is going on with our country and the fact that we monetize so much bloodshed overseas for what exactly?” Knightly said. “What changes positively for us? We’re just killing people for greed.”
The Epstein files are thousands of documents involving sex trafficking investigations by Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, according to Britannica.
San José Against War publicized an Instagram post to spread word of the protest, touching on topics they would be protesting, which includes the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“Acting President Delcy Rodriguez of Venezuela is being forced into oil and financial deals after the U.S. military attack that killed over 90 Venezuelans and Cubans. This violent attack turned into a kidnapping, violating Venezuela’s sovereignty. It is outrageous,” the post read.
On Jan. 10, Trump said American energy companies are going to invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure to push production, according to Fox News.
The U.S. launched an operation to seize Maduro on Jan 3., according to the U.S. Department of War.
During the operation, the Cuban government stated that 32 Cubans were killed, according to BBC.
Andy Schaefer, a member of San José Against War, said unprovoked attacks are criminal and do not benefit the U.S.
“The people that actually create things, the people that wait tables, that work in farms, that work in factories,” Schaefer said. “These (people), the real economy, don’t benefit from these war crimes.”
Speakers advocated for no more terrorism from the U.S. and for people to recognize the sufferings of those impacted by Trump’s actions.
“The fact is these crimes go hand in hand with the oppression of our people here in the United States. Attack against one is an attack against all,” Schaefer said.
Organizers of the event urged attendees to call and message city and state representatives to take action against U.S. affiliation with the three countries.
San José Against War plans to hold a call to action on Mar. 10 at 1:30 p.m. at San José City Hall to demand ethical investment and give public comment to the city council and council chambers, according to a San José Against War instagram post.
“It’s good to have protests like this. You’ve seen how they work. If you try hard enough, they will,” Singh said. “I hope to see changes, but I don’t think it’s gonna change in this lifetime.”
