On Tuesday, the Richmond City Council approved a resolution Opposing the Unlawful United States Military Intervention Against Venezuela.
The resolution was approved in a 6-0 vote with councilmember Brown abstaining.
The item was brought forward by Mayor Eduardo Martinez and Vice Mayor Doria Robinson after Recent unauthorized U.S. military actions in Venezuela raise serious concerns about the misuse of public resources, violations of international law, and the human costs of foreign military intervention.
According to the council, these actions directly matter to the City of Richmond because federal funds used for overseas conflicts are diverted from local priorities such as housing, public safety, infrastructure, and social services, while global instability contributes to humanitarian displacement that affects communities like ours. reaffirm its commitment to peace, human rights, and prioritizing the needs of its residents.
“I think its important for Richmond to be a voice in these matters even though we are a small city, we are also telling our community in Richmond that we hear them, as we did with the resolution for our brothers and sisters from Palestine, we are doing this to say to our community who are born in other countries like myself in Columbia, that we listen to them and we are here to speak against any injustice in any place,” stated Councilmember Claudia Jimenez. “I think the US has a history Latin America and South America doing this kind of things.”
She called for the US Government to treat South America and Central America with respect and stop killing innocent people just because they think they are drug dealers without any proof.
Mayor Martinez took issue with the President.
“One of the things that I find disturbing is the imperial the blatant imperialistic point of view that our president has taken. I mean calling Canada our 51st state, saying Greenland will be ours one way or the other, threatening Mexico, isolating Cuba even more so economically so that the people there will feel like they must rise up in their scenario, threatening Venezuela and bolstering fascists in other Latin American countries with his rhetoric. It’s disturbing,” said Martinez. “What’s also disturbing is using the murder of people on boats as political propaganda. We had means of interdiction of those boats with our coast guard. We chose not to do that. We chose to bomb them without even knowing who they are and without being able to prove who they are because of the way they were bombed. That’s wrong. That’s evil. and we should stand against that.”
Here is the Resolution:
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, CA, OPPOSING THE UNLAWFUL UNITED STATES MILITARY INTERVENTION AGAINST VENEZUELA
WHEREAS, the City of the City of Richmond, California has long upheld principles of peace, human rights, and the responsible use of public resources, including through its Human Rights Affirmation Resolution; and
WHEREAS, on January 3, 2026, the United States Armed Forces launched a large-scale military operation against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including air strikes and a special operations mission that resulted in at least one hundred persons killed and in the abduction and removal to the United States of the constitutional Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, past President of the National Assembly; and
WHEREAS, following that operation, the President of the United States publicly stated that the United States would “run Venezuela” indefinitely and have control over aspects of governance and the management of Venezuela’s oil resources—actions widely criticized domestically and internationally as de facto occupation or unlawful control of another sovereign state’s internal affairs; and
WHEREAS, U.S. military presence and involvement in Venezuela continues without explicit statutory authorization from Congress, which is a violation of the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. military attacks against Venezuela violated core tenets of the UN Charter, including the principles of sovereign equality, noninterference in internal affairs, peaceful settlement of international disputes and the prohibition of the use of force in international relations; and
WHEREAS, numerous governments, international law experts, and global organizations have condemned the U.S. strikes, the killings and abductions, and the control of Venezuelan institutions as violations of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty; and
WHEREAS, current U.S. policies toward Venezuela, including its continued military deployment and economic control over oil resources, have contributed to destabilizing the country, exacerbating humanitarian conditions, and causing avoidable harm to civilian populations; and
WHEREAS, the millions of dollars spent in these unlawful actions against the government and people of Venezuela were diverted from domestic needs in a clear betrayal of the promises made to have no more foreign wars and to prioritize the needs of U.S. cities and communities like Richmond, California; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond, California recognizes that war, military occupation, blockades, and prolonged foreign military involvement have significant human, economic, and social costs that often impact our communities in the U.S. by compelling desperate refugees to move with their families to the U.S. and beyond to survive; and
WHEREAS, local governments hold a responsibility to speak out when U.S. actions threaten international peace, human rights, or the well-being of their residents at home and abroad; and
WHEREAS, the internal governance of each sovereign nation of the Americas needs to be addressed by the sovereign people of each nation and not by foreign military interventions; and
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Richmond, California, condemns the U.S. military strikes, occupation, or occupation-like control of Venezuela, the unlawful killings and abductions of Venezuelan nationals, and opposes any United States military presence, intervention, or de facto governance of Venezuela; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond, California calls for an immediate and unconditional end to any U.S. military occupation or control activities in Venezuela, including the complete withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Venezuelan territory and internal affairs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond, California calls for the immediate release from detention and repatriation of the constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond urges the U.S. federal government to end its current strategies and actions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. These policies are causing diplomatic, humanitarian, political, and economic crises, creating regional instability and undermining international law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond calls on the U.S. Congress to assert its constitutional authority and require the President to cease all unauthorized military actions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Richmond rejects all attempts by the current federal administration, and all others, to revive the imperial hemispheric dominance policies known as the Monroe Doctrine and to overrun the sovereignty of the nations of the continent and subjugate them to the will and interests of the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Clerk is directed to transmit copies of this Resolution to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of State, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the City’s federal representatives.
Documents:
- Staff Report: Click Here
- Resolution: click here
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