After Maduro’s Abduction: What’s Going on in Venezuela? Strategic Retreat or Capitulation?
June 20 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm CDT
After Maduro’s Abduction: What’s Going on in Venezuela? Strategic Retreat or Capitulation? Presentation by William Camacaro followed by discussion
William Camacaro is a Venezuelan-American analyst and a long-time solidarity activist currently working out of New York. He is National Co-Coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice, a Senior Analyst for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) and co-founder of the Venezuela Solidarity Network. William will share news from Venezuela based on information coming from his contacts there.
Date: Saturday, June 20, 2026
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Place: Workers Organizing Resource Centre (WORC)
432-B Ellice Ave., Winnipeg
Anyone interested can join our meeting which will open with a 15-20 minute presentation by William Camacaro, followed by questions and discussion.
Background
Contradictory news has been coming out of Venezuela since the capture and imprisonment of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Celia Flores on January 3. Venezuelan solidarity activists have taken care to avoid condemnation of interim president Delcy Rodriguez and the government that has remained in place since Maduro’s abduction. Submission to the Trump administration’s control over Venezuela’s oil, the restructuring of the legal apparatus governing foreign investment and control of Venezuelan resources and the release of anti-Chavista political prisoners has been characterized as part of a strategic retreat necessary to hold onto the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution while under direct threat and intense pressure from the US imperialist war machine and corporate interests.
However, since the Rodriguez government extradited former Industry Minister, Alex Saab to face charges in a Florida court, some activists and commentators associated with Venezuela solidarity have become much more critical of the interim government, noting that the strategic retreat looks like capitulation, or even a betrayal of the Chavista movement and the principles of Bolivarian sovereignty and socialism.
This is not the first time Saab has been taken into US custody. He was first arrested in 2020 during a trip to Tehran to negotiate food and fuel imports to Venezuela as a result of shortages caused by US sanctions. At that time, Saab was charged with “conspiracy to commit money laundering”. After this first arrest, a “Free Alex Saab” campaign was launched. The Maduro government and international solidarity activists decried the arrest of a Venezuelan diplomatic envoy. Saab was released in a prisoner swap with the US in 2023. The current charges against Saab have expanded to include criminal conspiracy, money laundering, falsification of documents and bribery. These new charges reflect the US government’s determination to punish Venezuela for its former fight against US sanctions and reveal the US administration’s arrogance as Trump boasts about Venezuela becoming the 51st state of the US.