The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, whom it accused the United States government of detaining illegally.
The campaign, in a statement issued on Friday by its Coordinator, Dimeji Macaulay, said the continued detention of the Venezuelan leaders represented an assault on national sovereignty and international law.
It called on Washington to end what it described as political persecution of Venezuela, abandon its interference in the affairs of sovereign nations and respect the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their political future without external pressure.
The group also condemned the reported expansion of criminal charges against Maduro and Flores, alleging that the US administration was using its judicial system to exert political pressure on governments opposed to its interests.
“We reject the use of military power, economic coercion and politically motivated prosecutions as instruments for determining the political future of Venezuela,” the statement said.
The campaign further demanded an end to economic sanctions against Venezuela and the US economic blockade of Cuba, arguing that the measures imposed hardship on ordinary citizens, including workers, children and vulnerable communities.
It described the restrictions as collective punishment for the political and economic choices of the two countries, insisting that their populations should not suffer because of their governments’ preferred systems of social and economic organisation.
The VSCN expressed solidarity with Cuba, citing its achievements in education, healthcare, international solidarity and social development, and urged Washington to end what it called economic strangulation of the Caribbean nation.
Beyond Venezuela and Cuba, the campaign criticised the global capitalist system, arguing that the concentration of wealth in the hands of billionaires had worsened inequality while millions of people continued to face hunger, homelessness, inadequate healthcare and limited educational opportunities.
It cited the wealth accumulated by billionaires, including Elon Musk, as an example of what it described as an unequal economic order in which a small minority controlled resources generated through the collective labour of millions.
The group called on workers, peasants, students, trade unions, socialist organisations and progressive movements worldwide to unite in pursuit of what it described as a socialist system founded on equality, democracy, solidarity and collective ownership of productive resources.
On Western Sahara, the campaign reaffirmed its support for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, rejecting any attempt to impose Morocco’s autonomy proposal as a substitute for a democratic decision on the territory’s political future.
It called for a free, fair and internationally supervised referendum that would allow the Sahrawi people to choose their future, including independence.
The group noted that Western Sahara remained on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and argued that its people should not be denied the right to determine their political status.
It maintained that self-determination should apply equally to the peoples of Palestine, Western Sahara and Venezuela, as well as other nations facing occupation, domination or foreign interference.
