Eileen Gloster didn’t expect the United States to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday or for President Donald Trump to say he intends to "run" Venezuela temporarily. But she wasn’t surprised.

A screenshot of a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows who he says is President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima, which is currently patrolling in the Caribbean Sea.

“It’s depressing because it’s always something new," the protest organizer said.

On Saturday, about 30 people braved cold temperatures to stand outside North Adams City Hall for about an hour during Gloster’s weekly protest — with Maduro’s capture top of mind. The protests, which Gloster has organized since May through her Facebook page Eileen for Justice, usually draw between 20 and 35 people, though attendance has dipped since winter began. She said Saturday’s news likely fueled the uptick.

"It's very upsetting," Wendy Penner of Greylock Together, who attended Gloster’s protest, told The Eagle. "Venezuela should be run by Venezuelans. This sets a dangerous precedent."

Stand Up Berkshires, Greylock Together and Indivisible Pittsfield will hold a No War in Venezuela standout in Pittsfield on Jan. 11 at Park Square at 1 p.m., according to organizer Robin O’Herin.

A sign Eileen Gloster made Saturday morning after she learned that the U.S. forces had removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an attack in Caracas, Venezuela.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized Saturday by U.S. forces during a strike on his compound in Caracas, Venezuela, that killed at least 80 people, The New York Times reported. They were later transported to New York City, where they face narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges. The operation capped an intense pressure campaign by Trump aimed at removing the autocratic South American leader.

A protester in front of North Adams City Hall on Saturday.

However, despite Trump's assertions that the U.S. will "run" the country to tap into its vast oil reserves, the Times reported "no obvious signs" of U.S. military presence in Venezuela, and Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as interim president and demanded Maduro’s return.

“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” Rodriguez said.

The Berkshire congressional delegation — all Democrats — condemned Trump’s actions as unconstitutional and an overreach of presidential power. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said the strikes in Venezuela and Maduro’s removal were carried out unilaterally, without congressional approval. Early congressional reaction was split along party lines.

"In all my years in Congress, this is one of the most blatant disregards of congressional war power that I have witnessed," Neal said in a statement.

Warren questioned Trump's intentions.

"What does it mean that the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela, and what will Trump do next around the world?" Warren asked in a statement.

Carlina Velasquez, president of the nonprofit Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, was thankful for Maduro's removal. She emigrated from Venezuela 30 years ago and has seen the country's economy and democracy falter under Maduro and his predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chavez. Her organization funds Venezuelan humanitarian aid, organizes cultural festivals and assists migrants arriving in the state.

"We have been waiting for this moment for 25 years, and this is the only administration that has been taking action," Velasquez told The Eagle. "People are leaving the country because of a humanitarian crisis, and no one in the world has done anything about it."

A protester in front of North Adams City Hall on Saturday.

Velasquez has family in Venezuela who are also in favor of Maduro's removal. While the Times and Venezuela’s state-run television reported protests in support of Maduro, Velasquez questioned their authenticity — several international media outlets, including the BBC, have reported that Maduro's administration pays citizens to spread propaganda.

"They hate Maduro, everyone," Velasquez said. "But if he pays them because they are hungry, they do whatever he asks."

Venezuela's economy has collapsed under Maduro. Between 2013 and 2020, GDP fell more than 80 percent, and about 74 percent of the population lives in multidimensional poverty, with nearly 40 percent facing moderate to severe food insecurity. Approximately 8 million people have fled since 2014; Massachusetts hosts an estimated 10,000 Venezuelans, according to the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts.

The United States has not recognized Maduro as president since 2019. In November 2024, the Biden administration recognized Edmundo González as president-elect after he presented evidence showing he defeated Maduro.

The Berkshire congressional delegation did not defend Maduro's record, but they disagreed that it was the United States' place to remove him from power.

A protester in front of North Adams City Hall on Saturday.

"A deeply flawed regime and corrupt leader does not justify unilateral military action when no imminent threat to the United States exists," Neal said in a statement. Markey said the removal further destabilize Venezuela and said the U.S. "risks another endless war."

A protester in front of North Adams City Hall on Saturday.

The organizers shared similar concerns.

"Maduro was no one’s friend," Penner said. "He's a bad actor." But she was worried about the precedent the removal set. "What’s to stop other countries from ignoring international law?"

Fernando Leon, a member of Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, said that Maduro's removal normalizes "authoritarian practices by legitimizing unilateral force, extrajudicial punishment, and rule-by-might over rule-of-law.

"Accountability must be pursued through multilateral legal institutions and due process, not through actions that mirror the abuses they claim to oppose," he said.

Gloster believes Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, should stand up to Trump.

"We are not an autocracy," she said. "To go in and bomb a nation, remove their leader … without any congressional approval is such an overreach.

"We need to get a backbone or conscience ... maybe a little of both."

Meanwhile, Velasquez hopes that the removal allows for a better future for Venezuela.

"I hope there is a transition between power, and we become free and prosper like we used to be," she said. "We have been oppressed and humiliated for 25 years."

She said she wanted Venezuela to go back to how she remembered it, before Chavez assumed office in 1999.

"We [were] never a migrant population," she said. "We used to receive them."