Parisians protest US military operation in Venezuela

Hundreds of demonstrators in Paris on Sunday protested a US military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The demonstrators gathered at Bastille Square following calls from various political parties, voicing opposition to the US move.

The protesters carried banners reading "Stop imperialist aggression, yes to the sovereignty of peoples."

The banners also called for the release of Maduro, while the protesters chanted slogans such as "Trump out, Venezuela does not belong to you."

The demonstrators called for the withdrawal of the US from the Caribbean and expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

They also demanded that the Venezuelan people be allowed to determine their own future independently and that sanctions imposed on the country be lifted.

Pro-Palestinian supporters also took part in the demonstration.

On Jan. 3, US special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a nighttime raid in Caracas, taking him into US custody amid airstrikes on military targets.

The operation, authorized by President Donald Trump, stemmed from long-standing federal indictments accusing Maduro of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption.

On Jan. 5, Maduro appeared in a New York City federal court in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.