Screenshot from X: image of Caracas, 3 January 2025
Trump’s bombing attack on Venezuela must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The apparent forced removal and kidnapping of its president Maduro is a war crime. It follows weeks where the US has targeted boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking, has moved a considerable fleet to the Caribbean threatening Venezuela, and has demanded regime change in a country which has long faced sanctions and repressive measures from Washington.
The recent US national security strategy spelt out that Trump is resurrecting the Monroe doctrine and that US imperialism regards intervention in its ‘backyard’ of Latin America as its right. In its sights are not just Venezuela but Cuba as well. The Maduro government has urged the people of Venezuela to resist these attacks. Its official statement says the action is in breach of the UN charter, and is about targeting the country’s resources, especially its oil reserves.
The British government should condemn the forced removal and attack for the aggression that it is and call for an immediate cessation of military action by the US, and the return of Maduro to his country.
This is not of course the only recent military action by the Trump regime which has bombed Syria in recent weeks and has given full support to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Despite his election promises of ending ‘forever wars’ Trump is embroiled in stoking imperialist conflicts around the world. It is time for the British government to break from US foreign policy and call for peace, not war.
We must call for full solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the return of their government. Only the peoples of Latin America can decide their own fate and choose their own government and should be able to do so without interference. There can be no support for US imperialism in Latin America or for the crimes of Trump.