Washington, April 1 (RHC)-- Hundreds of people took to the streets of Washington, DC over the weekend to oppose the upcoming NATO ministerial meeting in the U.S. capital.  The demonstrators also condemned the continued U.S. involvement in the Venezuelan political crisis.

The march was aimed at showing "mass popular opposition to NATO, wars, racism and U.S. aggression against Venezuela," the National Mobilization Steering Committee, an ad hoc coalition of activists representing dozens of peace movements and action groups, said in a statement.

Demonstrators gathered at Lafayette Square in front of the White House and then marched through the area, stopping near the offices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Organization of the American States (OAS), which the demonstrators also hold partly responsible for the imperialist policies of the West.  They also marched past the Washington mayor's office to address local issues, and the Customs & Border Enforcement office to highlight the plight of Latin American asylum seekers coming to the United States.

The protesters held placards and banners that read: "No to NATO, No to war and racism," "Unite to fight NATO's racist wars," "NATO Bombs = Slavery in Libya," "NATO Killed One Million Iraqis," and "Shut Down NATO'S War Crimes."

Some slogans also referred to the continued U.S. pressure on Venezuela, where Washington supports self-proclaimed 'interim president' Juan Guaido, who seeks to depose the elected leader, Nicolas Maduro.  The slogans read: "Hands off Venezuela," "No war on Venezuela," and "U.S. Sanctions Caused Venezuela's Crisis."

Anti-war organizers in the United States are kicking off a week of protests around the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO.