On Saturday, January 3rd, the U.S military captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. First and foremost two things can be true: Many Venezuelans are feeling relief and many are outraged by this illegal attack.

However, there is nothing pro-democracy about unilaterally and illegally invading a country and kidnapping a sovereign leader and this invasion is bringing up a haunted past of U.S. intervention that has ended poorly for Americans and foreign countries. It follows an old trend: unpopular presidents launching regime change wars instead of addressing the problems at home.

Trump says this is about prosecuting drug trafficking- but if that were true, why did he pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted and sentenced to 45 years for trafficking drugs into the United States? And if this is really about caring for Americans’ health why are millions of us being kicked off of Medicaid this year?

So what is this really about? President Donald Trump said the U.S. would take control of Venezuela’s massive oil reserves and “run” Venezuela for the time being. Going to war to enrich billionaires does not keep us safe, does not solve our problems and only makes matters worse. So we are fighting back the only way we know how – with our wallets.

If a president backed by oil companies wants to occupy Venezuela, then we the people are done funding it. Starting this week, we’re launching wildcat consumer gas strikes against the pump, until the U.S. commits to not occupying Venezuela. *** What we mean by wildcat: these strikes will happen and be called at random.

Cut the Fuel commences on Thursday January 8th. Do not buy gas of any kind on January 8th. We will show these gas and oil companies our collective power. Then we will release dates at random: to not buy gas, picket and do local creative actions of your choice. Our fundamentals: keep it safe and be safe.

***We understand that some people run small businesses, provide emergency services, or may have urgent situations that require fuel. Please do what you need to do to get by and keep people safe. This action is about collective pressure not punishing those who may need to refuel that day to survive or serve their communities. So spread the word.

📢📢📢Here’s how to participate 📢📢📢

1. Don’t buy gas on Thursday January 8th
2. Use the graphics linked here and post about your participation on Thursday January 8th #CutTheFuel
3. Share this document: bit.ly/StrikeThePump  and check this space and hashtag #CutTheFuel for the next set of dates. Start a local group if you want to come up with your own #CutTheFuel economic actions.