Let us support the Venezuelan people in their sovereign struggle for their democratic rights and dignified conditions!
Once the military air-naval siege ordered by Trump against Venezuela began, Marea Socialista, together with the International Socialist League and its Colombian section UNIOS published a statement against the presence of the U.S. and its aggressions in Venezuelan waters. We also condemn the pro-interventionist calls of the far right led by María Corina Machado, wrongly awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize.
We are also in favor of active international solidarity of the Latin American peoples and of the world, not only to defend Venezuela’s sovereignty but also to confront the extension of US interventionist operations to Colombia. This is considered harassment and military aggression. We also see how the US intervenes in Argentina to prop up the far-right government of Milei with “financial assistance” and debt.
We reject US interventionism, regarding Venezuela specifically we made it very clear that we do not trust Maduro. We are the left opposition of his government, it is against workers, capitalist, starving, reactionary, authoritarian and repressive. We do not consider it in any way socialist or revolutionary, but quite the contrary, and it keeps strong ties with U.S. imperialism.
They attack our countries militarily, where they have their companies or bases.
On the other hand, we have pointed out some contradictory situations. While imperialism attacks and kills boat crew members in the Caribbean with the unproven accusation of being drug traffickers at the service of the “Cartel of the Suns” and Maduro, in Venezuela oil production is largely in the hands of the US transnational Chevron Texaco, licensed by the United States in spite of the sanctions against the Maduro regime.
In Colombia, against which the boat attacks also began, this contradiction is exacerbated by the presence of U.S. military bases, previously established in its territory by governments prior to Petro’s. These are military bases of the same country that is now subjecting it to naval hostilities and threatening its democratically elected president. These are military bases of the same country that now subjects it to naval hostilities and threatens its democratically elected president.
In the case of Venezuela, after the ruling bureaucracy embezzled and ruined the sovereign capacity of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the supposed “anti-imperialist” government is extracting and trading much of the oil with an imperialist company authorized by its attacker Donald Trump (and to a lesser extent with Chinese companies), violating the terms established in the Constitution and the Hydrocarbons Law to allow extraction without charging royalties or taxes and with a labor force given away by the liquidation of the Venezuelan workers’ salary (minimum wage of less than 1 dollar per month, which we call “zero salary” or “symbolic salary”). This is a clear example of how the logic of “the stick and the carrot” is applied, the logic of blackmail, which characterizes the relations between the Venezuelan government and the gringo government.
Trump’s problem is not with “narco-terrorism” but competition for global geopolitical dominance
Although the actions of the US navy and aviation in the Caribbean, off the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts, are presented by Trump and Marcos Rubio as if they were aimed at ending drug trafficking to the world’s largest drug consumer, it is known that it is a way to put pressure with the threat and military harassment to the government of Maduro, in the name of “democracy” and more recently to the government of Petro, which he also points out as “narco-terrorist”, a term used by Trump to try to justify his armed aggressions and executions of boat crew members, whether they are alleged drug traffickers or fishermen from both countries.
The US and Trump’s government has no problem tolerating and doing business with any corrupt, dictatorial or genocidal government, as long as it does not break with its scheme of global domination; and we see this in many parts of the world. But, in the case of Maduro the biggest problem lies in his geopolitical alignment, in which alliances and business with China, Russia, Iran and BRICS countries stand out. All this because Yankee imperialism does not want any fissure in the exercise of its economic and political hegemony in the Latin American and Caribbean region, which it considers as its “backyard” and exclusive zone of colonial or semi-colonial domination. Something similar happens with what Petro represents for the US.
What is happening with Venezuela, with Colombia and with current US relations with Latin America must be taken in the context of Trump’s break with the normative and institutional order established after World War II.What is happening with Venezuela, with Colombia and with the current US relations with Latin America, must be taken in the context of Trump’s break with the normative and institutional order established after World War II, which bypasses all regulations, treaties, rights conventions and international organizations, replacing everything with arbitrariness and the “law of the strongest”, with a method based mainly on extortion for economic gain or political benefits, coercion, serious threats, intimidation or directly physical violence, in addition to the grossest manipulation and falsehood, outside any legitimacy or legality (even the bourgeois legality of their own country and international).
Having started by sinking alleged “narco-boats” and killing their crew members in the Venezuelan sea, he has gone on to attack boats from other countries or with crews of other nationalities, as happened to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who were on one of the sunken boats, despite the fact that the Trinidadian government maintains an attitude of collaboration with what Trump is doing. Now it is also accusing Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being the “head of drug trafficking” and has begun sinking boats from that country. Petro claims they were fishermen, while Trump speaks of “ELN narcos”. Trump’s orders operate without interdiction and detention procedures, without investigation, without evidence or explanation, and without any legal process, with executions by bombs, and outside his jurisdiction, with clear acts of war.
Escalation against Venezuela and Colombia is against all Latin America
The situation is heating up with the announcement of the possibility of carrying out “armed and lethal actions” within the territories, either against what appears to them as “drug trafficking” in Venezuela or Colombia, or against leaders of the Venezuelan government for whom he has put an arrest warrant and even offers a reward for carrying it out. Trump has spoken of “hunting down and killing” Maduro and revealed having authorized covert CIA activities in Venezuela (although this is nothing new). And this comes with an aggravating factor, which is the involvement of the genocidal Zionist State apparatus: the MOSAD, in cooperation with the US, due to its experience in interventionist operations and liquidation of leaders in the entire region of the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen or Qatar and other countries).
What we are seeing seems to be turning into an escalation of US military forces, although the actions carried out are still very partial or limited; but they are expanding to Colombia, collaterally affecting other countries, and they are increasing. In the case of Colombia, it is happening with a country that maintains U.S. bases within its space, as already mentioned.
We, the mobilized peoples, must be the vanguard in the face of the timorous and lackey Latin American governments.
Petro has condemned the aggressions against Venezuela and has called on Latin American countries to take action in rejection of the aggressions ordered by Trump. He has proposed joint actions of Colombia with Venezuela and even with Trinidad and Tobago, where there have been social protests after the death of fishermen from that country. But the answers given by Petro are still very insufficient, since Colombia would have to take measures for the withdrawal of the US bases on its soil and terminate the cooperation agreements with NATO that were established with the governments of Uribism.
Apart from this, it should be noted that Petro, as president of Colombia, recently assumed the pro tempore presidency of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), which took place on April 9, 2025, during the summit held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and therefore, in this rotating and annual presidency, it is the responsibility of the country that holds it to represent the bloc in international forums, coordinate common agendas and promote regional integration. In this case, Colombia was unanimously elected to lead the mechanism, which also implies that Petro acts as the group’s political spokesperson during this period.
Therefore, there are double implications, since Trump is attacking the president of an organization that brings together a broad group of Latin American and Caribbean states, which worsens and deepens the seriousness of such aggression; but on the other hand, it offers Petro the opportunity to convene said organization (CELAC) to try to make it face up, in order to put a stop to the US escalation, despite the fact that many of the governments of the countries that constitute it are pro-imperialist lackeys.
Unfortunately, so far, CELAC, as a multilateral organization, has had a fragmented and diplomatically very timorous response to the military hostilities of the United States, which says a lot about the prevailing semi-colonial relations between the imperial power and the bourgeois regimes of the area.
But what is happening should be a cause for an urgent call in defense of the sovereignty of two of its member countries and of the country that presides it as a community of nations, which should be, therefore, a demand of the mobilized peoples that compose it, with forceful pressure on their governments, on the embassies of each one of them or of the largest and most prominent ones, especially Mexico as a Caribbean and Pacific country, and Brazil as a country bordering Venezuela and Colombia.
It is very serious that there has not yet been a joint pronouncement at the height of the events, despite the fact that there have been declarations from both Colombia and Venezuela to the effect that “an armed intervention by the U.S. would be considered an aggression against the entire region, appealing to the principle of non-intervention and defense of peace”. Some member countries, although not unanimously, have expressed “concern” over the military deployment and called for “resolving differences through dialogue”, without going beyond that in the face of the thrust of the aggressive U.S. power. A “salute to the flag” as they say. And what is worse, while CELAC was organizing emergency meetings following the deployment of US ships and troops, the armed forces of some CELAC countries were involved in joint military exercises with the US in Caribbean waters. Something that should be roundly repudiated.
So, in view of the above, the main protagonism is then in the hands of the peoples, of the social and political organizations and movements, of the workers’ and popular movement, who have points of view and positions in defense of the independence and sovereignty of the Latin American nations, and against Yankee interventionism, so that protests are organized in all our countries demanding the adoption of actions aimed at stopping the ongoing US aggression, including the breaking of relations with the US, nationalist economic measures, the breaking of treaties and transactions of a military nature or of the arms market, or defensive military support to the aggressed countries, if necessary.We call for the organization of protests in all our countries to demand the adoption of actions aimed at stopping the ongoing U.S. aggression, including the breaking of relations with the U.S., nationalist economic measures, the breaking of treaties and transactions of a military or arms market nature, or defensive military support to those attacked, as the case may be.
The obligatory anti-imperialist stance of national and Latin American defense is not equivalent to political support for authoritarian or reformist governments.
In our previous communiqué we already warned that this offensive against Venezuela was not simply against the Maduro government and that it was an extensive threat to all our Latin American countries, as we are already seeing. Let us not forget that Trump, at the beginning of his administration, stated his intention to take back by force the control of the Panama Canal if it did not work to the full convenience of the U.S. (aiming, among other things, to restrict China’s commercial operations). We are observing how the pressure on Mexico has increased and how “King” Trump is also meddling in Brazil’s domestic politics, threatening tariff hikes for the conviction of his coup-plotting friend Bolsonaro. We have also commented on the meddling in Argentina, and in different ways he has been propping up the most neoliberal, right-wing and repressive regimes in the area.
We have clearly pointed out that the Venezuelan people will not be saved by Donald Trump’s forceful actions, nor will any political leader subjected to his dictates, as is the case of María Corina. History and international reality show the result of US invasions and the lackey governments it imposes. Even more so today, when the US is the main accomplice of the genocide committed against the Palestinian people of Gaza. A genocide that is not condemned by the “Nobel Peace Prize winner” Maria Corina Machado (questioned by Norwegian organizations).
We are for the defense of Venezuela, of Colombia and of any country attacked by imperialism, and in favor of that defense becoming an opportunity to advance towards full liberation with the impulse of true socialist revolutions that give power to the workers and the people, instead of the rule of the bourgeoisies or of corrupt bureaucracies within the framework of capitalism. We insist that governments like Maduro’s are not left, nor are they socialist, that what they do is administer capitalist regimes, profoundly anti-worker and anti-democratic, using “socialism” as a false flag. Moreover, Trump’s pressure gives them more excuses to reinforce their authoritarianism and repression. For others, like Petro’s government, the hour of definitions about its course is coming, as it finds itself subjected to the imperialist offensive: Does it advance with the Colombian people along the path of anti-capitalism and consistent anti-imperialism, within the framework of the Latin American struggle, or does it get stuck in the face of Trump’s harassment?
That is why we stress that the anti-imperialist defense of Venezuela does not mean backing a government as nefarious as Maduro’s, which by its nature, we believe, is not capable of consistently defending the country from a foreign power like the U.S., while it continues to subject the Venezuelan people to miserable conditions of super-exploitation, repression and violations of rights, embezzlement and ruin. The harmful effects of the capitalist and counterrevolutionary policies of this government have been aggravated by the imperialist sanctions and if the Venezuelan government now says that there is an economic “recovery” or “growth”, we want to denounce that this is a fallacy and a mirage. It is an apparent capitalist “growth” that does not improve living conditions and is based on the plundering of wages (zero wages) along with other rights, the subsidizing of remittances from 7 million emigrants, and businesses derived from corruption or the exploitation of our resources by imperialist transnationals (Chinese, Russian or North American and European) in reversal of the sovereign policies previously implemented.
The worst of all is that, faced with the possibility of an armed invasion or a war, this government shows itself absolutely incapable of giving more strength to the people with better salaries and restitution of the benefits that have been taken away from them, of improving their health and basic services. Neither is it capable of taking measures for the recovery of economic sovereignty, such as those that in a lukewarm manner had begun to be taken in Chávez’s times, and it continues to make oil production dependent on a transnational company of the same empire that is attacking it militarily at this moment. And it does not even open spaces for participation and democratic discussion so that those who are against the imperialist aggression and criticize its policies may express themselves. Because what they are doing is defending their own privileges and the booty they have accumulated at the expense of the Venezuelan people.
We are not saying this because we expect nothing from the Maduro government, but to encourage the struggle of the Venezuelan people to demand their rights and demands, which cannot be postponed with the excuse of the external military threat, as they have been postponed with the excuse of the “economic war” and the sanctions. On the contrary; the struggle for the social and democratic rights of the people must strengthen us in the struggle for independence and sovereignty against U.S. imperialism, and the struggle for sovereignty, in turn, must strengthen rights.
Therefore, once again we reiterate our demand that the democratic and trade union rights of the working class and the citizens in general be restored; that repression, the unjust use of criminalization of protest as “terrorism” or “incitement to hatred” and arbitrary imprisonment cease, that those imprisoned for exercising their rights be freed, that decent wages be granted (in accordance with the cost of the basic food basket), that the unconstitutional measures that privilege transnational capital, to the detriment of sovereignty and the right of the people to decent work, be abolished. This should lead to respect for the democratic right to elect the government.
Of course, it must be denounced that it has been Maduro’s own counterrevolutionary policies and the bureaucracy he represents, which has allowed the ultra-right to regain space.
For an urgent international campaign together with the Latin American and U.S. people against imperialist interventionism.
Being in favor of accompanying the unity of action of the Venezuelan people against U.S. interventionism, but maintaining independence from the Maduro government and opposition to its policies, without granting any confidence or support to its political regime, we believe it is necessary to promote a large sustained campaign of solidarity, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Also, of course, at the international level, including Latino migrants, workers and progressive youth in the United States who today are protesting with demonstrations of millions of people against Trump’s authoritarian drift within that country. A very important role in this can be played by those U.S. movements that Trump calls “leftist lunatics”.
It is a purpose that is linked to the struggle that has been sustained on a world scale since the movements against the genocide in Gaza committed by the Zionists with the cooperation of Yankee imperialism. And, of course, solidarity with Palestine, and at the same time with the countries attacked in Latin America, also links with the protests of the American people (both nationals and migrants) against the accelerated and profound authoritarian offensive of Trump against their rights within the U.S. Trump’s international offensive and his domestic authoritarianism are interdependent.
That is why we are facing an opportunity to unify or coordinate, with simultaneity and common objectives, the struggles that the American people are leading against Trump’s authoritarianism at home, with the Latin American protest against the expression of that same authoritarianism that harasses the Latin American peoples and threatens to intervene militarily in some of their nations. Let’s fight united against authoritarianism and interventionism!
Within the framework of this solidarity campaign, some of the proposals of Colombian President Petro come into play, in whose promotion we think he has lacked greater commitment and concreteness, such as pressuring with Latin American mobilizations the governments of Our America so that Latin American governments and organizations define themselves and take measures, strongly condemn Trump’s actions, initiate joint judicial and diplomatic claims, or decide to break relations with the U.S. government, suspend military treaties and business, expel the DEA, to demand and force him to cease aggressions and interventionism.It is also necessary to suspend military and business treaties and expel the DEA in order to demand and force the cessation of aggressions and interventionism.
But it is not a matter of waiting for the existing governments to do something, but the focus must be -we insist- on the action of the people themselves, in taking to the streets, both in the countries under attack such as Venezuela and Colombia and in all the countries of our Latin American brotherhood, including our migrants in the USA.
Of course, for us as anti-imperialists, anti-capitalists and revolutionary socialists, Latin American unity and mobilization against the colonialist or semi-colonial offensive of the U.S. is, it is worth repeating, a function of the liberation, independence and sovereignty of our nations and does not imply the defense of corrupt and authoritarian governments, with which we think that the peoples themselves have to settle accounts with their own struggle and without interference from U.S. imperialism or any other.
In this struggle, from our vision, is inscribed the project of a united Latin America, under the leadership of governments of the working class and the people, with real social democracy and not the “democracy” of money, without authoritarianism, without militarism, without bureaucrats, without corruption, without countries that impose themselves on others, that carries out the authentic socialist transformation, with the economy and political power placed at the service of the full enjoyment of the rights of the people. For us, all this enters into the perspective of achieving the Second Independence of the countries of all Latin America and outlines a horizon in which the Latin American and Caribbean nations liberated by workers’, peasants’ and popular revolutions can advance along the road towards the formation of a future socialist federation of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples.
But the concrete task, right now, is to fight together against imperialist interventionism, defending the sovereignty and independence of our countries, without ceasing at any time to defend our rights as working class and as peoples in pursuit of a society without exploitation and without tyranny.
Socialist Tide of Venezuela
UNIOS of Colombia
International Socialist League
