Far-leftists gathered outside the United States Embassy in Madrid to protest against the “imperialist” overthrow of Venezuela’s former socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro by the Trump administration.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets outside the U.S. Embassy in the Spanish capital on Sunday afternoon in response to the pre-dawn American military operation, which saw Maduro and his wife captured in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought to New York, where they will both face charges related to narco-terrorism.
Leftist protesters in Madrid chanted slogans such as “Out with the criminal gringo!”, “We don’t want to be an American colony!” and “Out with the Nazi murderers!”, El País reported.
MADRID, SPAIN – JANUARY 4: A protester holds a sign during a protest against the capture of Nicolas Maduro in front of the US Embassy on January 4, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Olmo Blanco/Getty Images)
Alicia, 75, said: “I came to demonstrate because I am against what that country is doing in Venezuela and other places.
Another protester, José Martín Segovia, said: “We cannot tolerate governments that want to flout international norms.”
The protest on Sunday came in contrast to a significantly larger demonstration on Saturday in Madrid comprised mostly of members of the Venezuelan diaspora, many of whom fled their homeland to the Spanish capital to escape the brutality of Maduro’s socialist regime.
One of the estimated 2,500 demonstrators, Ana María Machado, told the local ABC newspaper that she was “immensely happy and overjoyed” about the fall of Maduro. ”
“I came to Spain because I couldn’t bear to breathe the same air as Chavismo. But my struggle has never stopped. There are things we can’t do so openly because we have family in Venezuela who are in danger,” she said, adding, “To my people, take shelter, because the fear hasn’t ended in Venezuela until we have total freedom. This has been a gift from our Santa Claus, who is Donald Trump.”
“We are very happy, experiencing this with great hope; But let’s not forget that fear still exists in Caracas and throughout Venezuela, where we all still have family,” another said.
MADRID, SPAIN – JANUARY 03: Hundreds of people during the rally in support of Venezuela and celebration for the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, at Puerta del Sol, January 3, 2026, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo By Diego Radames/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the socialist government in Spain, which has been criticised for alleged cosy relations with members of Maduro’s regime, has been one of the more critical voices in Europe against the U.S. military operation.
In a letter to supporters on Sunday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the “violation of international law in Venezuela” by Washington, El País reported. This comes despite Madrid, like the European Union, not recognising the former Maduro government as legitimate.
Other left-wing leaders in Europe have been facing pressure to condemn the operation that toppled the Maduro regime, including British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has so far refused to say whether he believed the forcible ousting of the socialist dictator was in accordance with international law.