ST. LOUIS – After months of rising tensions, the Trump administration’s threats toward Venezuela escalated into direct military action early Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon, demonstrators gathered in Forest Park to voice their opposition following reports of U.S. bombing in Venezuela and the capture of the country’s president. Protesters said they strongly disagreed with what they described as another military intervention by the United States.

Fox 2 News
By Kamryn Mendoza
January 4, 2026

Don Fitz of the Missouri Green Party criticized the administration’s actions, pointing to a long history of U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.

“It’s been over 60 years,” Fitz said. “Every year that goes by, the U.S. is involved in some military adventure. There are many Americans and many St. Louis families who don’t have the basic necessities of life. Instead of providing things like health care, money is being spent on frivolities like this.”

Another protester, Chris, questioned the moral consequences of the operation, arguing that the U.S. had violated its own values.

“It’s about energy,” he said. “People were killed without any trial whatsoever, innocent people on the high seas. Now they’ve bombed a sovereign country and kidnapped their leader. We’re supposed to be the bastions of freedom, justice, and liberty, yet we violate them at every turn.”

However, not everyone agreed with the protesters’ message. A Venezuelan woman at the scene, who asked not to be identified, said she believes the situation in Venezuela has been misunderstood by many Americans.

“There is no bomb in Venezuela. There is no blood or oil,” she said. “What there is is a government working with narco-trafficking. They need to get out. The president was not legitimate—it’s unconstitutional.”

She described daily life in Venezuela as unbearable, citing extreme economic hardship and human rights abuses.

“We live on three dollars a month. A carton of eggs costs nine dollars. How do you eat? How do you live?” she asked. “They are kidnapping people. They are killing people. They keep political prisoners.”

She added that years of oppression under socialism and communism have devastated the country and said the U.S. action, while controversial, felt overdue to many Venezuelans.

“People don’t read the news. They don’t know our history—25 years of oppression,” she said. “Finally, someone did something, and now it’s seen as wrong.”

Despite the conflicting views, she emphasized that Venezuelans are not seeking war.

“No one wants to fight. No one wants blood,” she said. “They just want a positive transition, and we are ready for it.”