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At a special meeting last night, the Eureka City Council unanimously approved an anti-war resolution condemning the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and calling for “an immediate and unconditional end to any U.S. military occupation … including a withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Venezuelan territory and internal affairs.”

The resolution was approved in a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Scott Bauer absent.

Since late last year, activists with the Humboldt Anti-War Committee have urged the city council to approve a resolution condemning airstrikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats. At last night’s meeting, several members of the anti-war committee urged the council to take the proposed resolution a step further and to strike out language indicating that the city would support U.S. military intervention in Venezuela with Congressional approval.

Bradley | Screenshot

“The current version of the resolution is pretty good, except for one small issue,” said one speaker, who only identified himself as Bradley. “In section one of the resolution, it says the ‘City of Eureka condemns the ongoing U.S. military strikes, occupation, or occupation-like control of Venezuela and opposes any United States military presence, intervention, or de facto governance of Venezuela’ — [that’s] good. The stinker is, ‘without explicit authorization from the United States Congress.’”

“I think [it’s] completely unnecessary and [hinges] the entire thing on U.S. Congress approval,” he continued. “Attacking Venezuela is bad, even if Congress approved it. At least I don’t think the City of Eureka is OK with it.”

Several other speakers agreed, many of whom took their three minutes at the podium to condemn the “immoral and illegal” U.S. military raid on Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. “Free Maduro, free Venezuela and free, free, free Palestine!” said one speaker.

Following public comment, Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach made a motion to approve an amended version of the resolution that strikes out the aforementioned line of text as follows:

The City of Eureka condemns the ongoing U.S. military strikes, occupation, or occupation-like control of Venezuela and opposes any United States military presence, intervention, or de facto governance of Venezuela without explicit authorization from the United States Congress in compliance with the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.

Councilmember Kati Moulton seconded the action and floated the idea of adding additional language to note that the raid on Maduro’s compound violates international law. Her peers agreed with the sentiment but felt adding additional language would be redundant, given that the resolution already acknowledges that “numerous governments, international law experts, and global organizations have condemned the U.S. strikes and control of Venezuelan institutions as violations of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty.”

Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez asked staff to update the last line of the resolution that directs the city clerk to send a copy of the document to top White House officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is now referred to as the Secretary of War.

Before voting on the item, Moulton read the following statement into the record:

When this resolution was proposed, it was about bombing boats in the Caribbean; then things escalated quickly and significantly. I’m deeply concerned about and opposed to our government so blatantly violating international law. I’m also deeply concerned about and opposed to our government so blatantly disregarding our own laws on our own soil, unjustly and violently occupying our own cities. I am disturbed by the dozens of survivors of sex trafficking who have spent decades bravely seeking justice, so far to no avail. I am concerned by the wholesale destruction of our social safety nets and the looting of our natural resources, the desolation of our public lands. I’m afraid for my LGBTQ community members who are facing increasing danger every single day for simply existing. This flood of atrocities is no accident. It is a tactic, and we cannot let the sheer volume overwhelm us. 

I am shaking because I know that this is not enough. I want the city government to let the people in our community know that they are safe, they are appreciated, and I want us to be able to speak as a voice as a city to the larger world. We need to stay vigilant and critical and, most importantly, connected.

The council approved the amended resolution in a 4-0 vote.

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