Environmental groups organize to protest Chevron, military action in Venezuela

January 8, 2026

A coalition of Bay Area environmental groups has called a protest at Chevron’s Richmond refinery on Saturday to oppose the Trump Administration’s actions in Venezuela and Chevron’s role in polluting the Richmond community

The corporate giant is the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela and is poised to benefit from the U.S. intervention there. Groups including Bay Resistance, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and East Bay Democratic Socialists of America will gather on Jan. 10, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Gate 14 at the Chevron refinery, 100 Chevron Way, Richmond.

The action is part of a nationwide day of resistance, to protest not only the Trump Administration’s takeover of Venezuela and Chevron’s role in the country, but also the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday. 

“We stand united demanding an end to the Venezuelan occupation and the removal of reckless untrained ICE agents from our communities,” organizers wrote in their call to action

Earlier this month the Trump Administration carried out a military action in Venezuela to capture president Nicolás Maduro that Venezuelan officials say left more than 100 dead. 

“One of the things that we’re fighting is how the Trump Administration is using these illegal power plays to destabilize Latin American countries in ways that are not foreign to us,” said Ilonka Zlatar, an organizer with the Oil and Gas Action Network, one of the groups planning the protest. “The U.S. has a long history of meddling in other countries around the world, specifically to open up those other places for resource extraction.”

Since Maduro’s capture, President Donald Trump has said the U.S. could run Venezuela for years, prompting opposition from progressive groups and anti-war advocates who see the move as a strategy to take over the country’s oil fields.

“We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil proxies down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need,” Trump told the New York Times in an interview this week.

The organizers are encouraging residents to contact their elected representatives, urging them to stop Trump’s actions in the country. The U.S. Senate on Thursday advanced a resolution, led by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, requiring Trump to get approval from Congress before taking further military action in Venezuela. 

The full Senate could vote on the measure next week. 

 

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