Socialist Network Activates Swift Anti-American Campaign Following Maduro Capture

Within minutes of the U.S. military operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, a coordinated network of self-described Marxist, socialist, and communist organizations launched a sophisticated information warfare campaign on American soil.

The operation, which unfolded with military-like precision overnight, mobilized activists across digital platforms and ultimately into the streets of more than 100 U.S. cities for what organizers called an “EMERGENCY DAY OF ACTION” to support the Venezuelan leader.

At 1:35 a.m., as U.S. special forces were landing in Venezuela, BreakThrough News, a socialist media outlet, published some of the first video from the military strikes, characterizing the operation as an “illegal bombing campaign of Caracas.” This talking point would be repeated consistently across the network throughout the day.

Ten minutes later, Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of The People’s Forum, a New York City-based socialist nonprofit, echoed the narrative on social media. By 2:29 a.m., the ANSWER Coalition, co-founded by self-described Marxist Brian Becker, had already produced and distributed a professionally designed poster calling for protests in Times Square with the slogan: “NO WAR ON VENEZUELA! STOP THE BOMBINGS.”

The rapid mobilization continued through the night, with organizations like the Party for Socialism and Liberation sharing the call to action by 2:43 a.m. Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, posted a message at 3:21 a.m. declaring “Down with US imperialism.”

According to intelligence experts, the overnight sequence displayed hallmarks of a pre-positioned influence network executing a rapid-response operation. The synchronization of messaging, staggered content releases, and immediate transition from online agitation to physical mobilization suggested an ecosystem designed for ideological warfare rather than spontaneous protest.

At the center of this domestic operation is the International Peoples’ Assembly, which functions as an umbrella organization connecting communist parties, socialist movements, and activist organizations worldwide. Its North American coordinating committee includes CodePink, the “Popular Education Project” of The People’s Forum, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

This network has been building relationships with Venezuela’s government for years. In 2003, Cuban leader Fidel Castro and then-Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez backed the Francisco de Miranda Front, establishing an international solidarity apparatus that would later support Maduro after his 2013 election.

De Los Santos and Prashad have both been photographed with Maduro during Venezuelan elections in 2021, where they expressed support for “sovereignty against imperialism.” De Los Santos has attended multiple Caracas conferences sponsored by the Maduro government, and in April 2024, Maduro personally recognized him at a conference of the “Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America.”

By Saturday morning, the campaign had expanded to include elected officials. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, condemned the U.S. operation as “illegal” at 8:57 a.m. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez followed at 10:29 a.m., claiming the action was “about oil and regime change.” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, recently inaugurated after backing by the Democratic Socialists of America, called the operation an “act of war” and “blatant pursuit of regime change.”

The talking points across this network aligned closely with statements from China and Russia, both of which condemned the U.S. action.

By afternoon, as Maduro and his wife arrived at Stewart Airport in New Windsor, N.Y., the network was broadcasting livestreams of protests across the country. During one such broadcast, ANSWER Coalition’s Becker revealed that organizers had been “conferring with each other” all night and had “put out the call for demonstrations” by 3:30-4:00 a.m. He claimed their protests had expanded to “100-plus cities” by collaborating with anti-Trump groups.

Congressional lawmakers are already investigating this socialist network for potential ties to Neville Roy Singham, a U.S.-born technology executive who relocated to Shanghai and has been accused of working in alignment with Chinese Communist Party interests.

“We should be raging!” Becker declared during his livestream, describing the day’s protests as “a harbinger of what’s coming” and framing the situation as a “class war, global war, anti-imperialist war.”