NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Allies in DSA Push Trump for Maduro's Release

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has personally called President Donald Trump to demand the release of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whilst his allies in the Democratic Socialists of America launched a campaign calling the military operation an 'illegal war'.

The newly inaugurated democratic socialist mayor said during a press conference on Saturday that he spoke directly with Trump to register his opposition to the operation. 'I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law,' Mamdani said.

DSA Launches 'Hands Off Venezuela' Campaign

The Democratic Socialists of America, the political movement with which Mamdani is affiliated, released a lengthy statement demanding 'the return of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores to Venezuela'. The left-wing organisation is launching a 'Hands Off Venezuela' campaign to get what it calls the 'imperialist' United States out of the socialist, oil-rich country.

'Solidarity with the people of Venezuela! Solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution!' a separate DSA International Committee policy statement declares. In its statement on Maduro's removal, the DSA claims the Trump administration has started 'an illegal war' against Venezuela. 'This is a nakedly imperialist war to install a US puppet government that will give Venezuela's oil resources over to US corporations and to force US hegemony over Latin America,' the group's statement says.

'Act of War and Violation of International Law'

Mamdani said in a post on X that he was briefed on the US military capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, 'as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City'. 'Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law,' the mayor wrote.

The mayor later claimed the 'blatant pursuit of regime change' will directly affect New Yorkers and Venezuelans living in New York City. 'My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance,' Mamdani continued.

DSA Demands Maduro's Return

The DSA statement likened the US military's action to the 'failed' war against Iraq, claiming it will only 'impoverish the people of Latin America'. 'Trump's war has nothing to do with drug trafficking. There is no substantiated evidence that high-level members of the Venezuelan government are narco-terrorists. Yet, the Trump administration is using this claim as the pretext for this illegal war,' the organisation stated.

The group issued a list of demands including a return of Maduro to Venezuela and restoration of diplomatic relations with Venezuela, an immediate end to 'military violence' against Venezuela and a total withdrawal of all US forces and operations from the Caribbean, and ending sanctions against Venezuela.

Maduro and his wife arrived in New York on Saturday evening and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They are expected to face an arraignment on Monday in Manhattan on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, according to an unsealed indictment released by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Understanding Democratic Socialism and US-Venezuela Relations

The controversy highlights the deep ideological divide over US foreign policy in Latin America. Democratic socialism, the political philosophy embraced by Mamdani and the DSA, advocates for democratic political systems alongside socialist economic policies. Critics of the Venezuela operation, including legal scholars, have questioned whether the military action violated international law principles of sovereignty.

However, according to Cornell Law Professor Brian L Cox, the United States doesn't recognise Maduro as a legitimate head of state, which means the operation may not have violated the UN Charter. The controversy also underscores tensions between progressive politicians who view the action as imperialism and those who support removing what they consider an illegitimate narco-terrorist regime. Venezuela has been under US sanctions for years due to concerns over democratic backsliding, human rights abuses, and alleged involvement in drug trafficking under Maduro's leadership.