YOUNGSTOWN - Demonstrators gathered outside the Federal Building and Courthouse on Wick Avenue to protest the U.S. military operation in Venezuela Sunday afternoon.

Protester Helana Komsa says she does not understand why the United States chose to attack the Venezuelan Capital of Caracas.

"It is not in our place, it is not in our right, and it is a violation of our constitution," she said.

George Otto, another protester, says that the right thing to do is to return Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"Take him back to his country so that he can resume carrying out his duties," he said. 

Otto says the nation must stand up against aggressive military action and expresses his concerns about the country's future.

"These are the events that will hurt us in the short run but also for many years in the future and will negatively impact the efforts of young people to run this country legitimately," he said.

Other Mahoning Valley residents felt the military operation was justified. 

Donald Scott, an attorney and U.S. Army veteran, says the United States has the right to intervene when another country directly or indirectly threatens it.

"We have every right to defend ourselves as a sovereign nation," he said. 

President Donald Trump said in a press conference Saturday after the operation in Venezuela that the U.S. would "run the country" until they can achieve a "safe, proper, and judicious transition."

Trump added that the U.S. would take control of the Venezuelan oil industry.