Petition Calling for Release of Venezuelan President Handed Over to US Embassy in Colombo

Colombo, January 14, 2026 — A petition urging the immediate release of the President of Venezuela and his wife was handed over to the Embassy of the United States in Colombo on Wednesday by the Collective against American Expansionism, a political platform critical of U.S. foreign intervention.

The petition was signed by Siritunga Jayasooriya, General Secretary of the United Socialist Party (USP), and Ranath Kumarasinghe, General Secretary of the Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), on behalf of the Collective. It was formally addressed to the Ambassador of the United States in Sri Lanka, with a request that its contents be conveyed to the people of the United States and relevant U.S. authorities.

In the document titled “A Petition to the People of the United States – Immediately release the Venezuelan President and his wife,” the signatories expressed “deep concern” over the arrest of the Venezuelan President and his wife, their transfer to the United States, and their prosecution under U.S. law after being declared international drug traffickers.

The petition questions why, if the allegations are substantiated by sufficient evidence, internationally recognized legal and judicial mechanisms were not used. It argues that international law enforcement agencies and multilateral judicial processes should have been employed instead of what it describes as unilateral action by the United States.

The petition further states that accusations portraying the Venezuelan President as a dictator or an illegitimate leader do not justify foreign intervention. It maintains that determining political legitimacy and leadership is the sovereign right of the Venezuelan people, and that the forcible detention of a sitting head of state by a foreign power constitutes a serious threat to national sovereignty and global democratic norms.

The Collective also criticized what it described as a revival of expansionist doctrines in U.S. foreign policy. The petition raised concerns about statements attributed to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, which, according to the document, promote the idea of geopolitical “backyards” and spheres of influence. Such thinking, the petition warns, could lead to heightened global confrontation and instability.

In addition, the petition condemned the renewed invocation of the Monroe Doctrine by the U.S. administration, arguing that its original purpose in the 19th century was to resist colonial domination rather than to justify modern-day intervention, coercion, or economic warfare.

Addressing the people of the United States directly, the petition calls on them to pressure their government to take several actions, including the immediate release of the Venezuelan President and his wife, an end to interventionist and expansionist policies, non-interference in the sovereignty of other nations, and the suspension of efforts to seize or control foreign natural resources. It also urges the pursuit of cooperative and democratic solutions to the global economic crisis through international dialogue rather than sanctions or military force.

The petition concludes with an appeal to democratic values, historical principles of self-determination, and global peace, emphasizing that international stability depends on mutual respect among nations rather than domination.

The Collective against American Expansionism stated that the petition reflects growing concern among political activists in Sri Lanka over global power politics and foreign interventions that, in their view, undermine national sovereignty and international law.

Read the Petition below.