The Trump administration’s military assault on Venezuela and abduction of the country’s president in the early hours of Saturday morning sparked immediate backlash from leaders in Latin America and across the globe, with lawmakers, activists and experts accusing the US of launching yet another illegal war of aggression.
Latin American leaders portrayed the assault as a continuation of the long, bloody history of US intervention in the region, which has included military coups and material support for right-wing forces.
“This is state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote in a social media post, demanding urgent action from the international community in response to the “criminal attack.”
Evo Morales, the leftist former president of Bolivia, said that “we strongly and unequivocally repudiate” the US attack on Venezuela.
“It is brutal imperialist aggression that violates its sovereignty,” Morales added. “All our solidarity with the Venezuelan people in resistance.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, one of the first world leaders to respond to Saturday’s developments, decried US “aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.” Petro said Colombian forces “are being deployed” to the nation’s border with Venezuela and that “all available support forces will be deployed in the event of a massive influx of refugees.”
“Without sovereignty, there is no nation,” said Petro. “Peace is the way, and dialogue between peoples is fundamental for national unity. Dialogue and more dialogue is our proposal.”
The presidents of Chile and Mexico similarly condemned the assault as a violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty and international law.
“Based on its foreign policy principles and pacifist vocation, Mexico urgently calls for respect for international law, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, and to cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people,” the Mexican government said in a statement. “Latin America and the Caribbean is a zone of peace, built on mutual respect, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the prohibition of the use and threat of force, and therefore any military action puts regional stability at serious risk.”
One Latin American leader, far-right Argentine president and Trump ally Javier Milei, openly celebrated the alleged US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, declaring on social media, “FREEDOM ADVANCES.”
Leaders and lawmakers in Europe also reacted to the US bombings. Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, issued a cautious statement calling for “deescalation and responsibility.”
British MP Zarah Sultana was far more forceful, writing on social media that “Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves – and that’s no coincidence.”
“This is naked US imperialism: an illegal assault on Caracas aimed at overthrowing a sovereign government and plundering its resources,” said Sultana, who was flanked by top US officials.
Trump’s version
Trump said that the US intends to control Venezuela until a “proper transition can take place,” indicating that the bombing of the South American country and abduction of its president were just the start of the Trump administration’s illegal intervention there.
“We are going to run the country,” Trump said during a press conference at his Florida resort, flanked by top US officials. Asked to elaborate, Trump said his administration is in the process of “designating various people” to run the government, adding that “we’re not afraid of boots on the ground.”
The president went on to say that US forces are prepared to launch “a much larger attack” on Venezuela if he deems it necessary, threatening other political figures in the country.
“What happened to Maduro can happen to them,” he said.
Trump also declared that American fossil fuel companies will “go in and spend billions of dollars” in Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world.Asked to elaborate, Trump said his administration is in the process of “designating various people” to run the government, adding that “we’re not afraid of boots on the ground.”
The president went on to say that US forces are prepared to launch “a much larger attack” on Venezuela if he deems it necessary, threatening other political figures in the country.
“What happened to Maduro can happen to them,” he said.
Trump also declared that American fossil fuel companies will “go in and spend billions of dollars” in Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world.
In a Fox News appearance ahead of the press conference, Trump brushed aside criticism from Democratic lawmakers and others who said the US bombing of Venezuela and abduction of its president were illegal.
Democratic lawmakers expressing that view are “weak, stupid people,” the president said, declaring that the actions he approved without congressional authorization and in violation of international law should be applauded.
“They should say, ‘Great job,’” Trump said. “They shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, gee, maybe it’s not constitutional.’ You know the same old stuff that we’ve been hearing for years and years and years.”
Trump went on to declare that the US will “be involved” in Venezuela’s political future following Maduro’s abduction. Asked if he would throw his support behind right-wing opposition leader María Corina Machado, the US president said, “We have to look at it.”
“They have a vice president, as you know,” said Trump, referring to Delcy Rodríguez, who is next in line to take power.
An indictment unsealed Saturday morning shows that Maduro, his wife, and top Venezuelan officials will face federal drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges.
The document characterizes Maduro as “previously the president of Venezuela.”
CNN reported that the raid resulting in Maduro and his wife’s capture was carried out by the US Army’s elite Delta Force.
“The couple was captured in the middle of the night as they were sleeping,” the outlet reported, citing unnamed sources. “A team of FBI agents was with the US special operation forces who carried out the capture.”
This article with later-updated information, originally published by Common Dreams. is republished under a Creative Commons License.
Every Gringo in Latin America WILL be TARGETED for DEATH.
ALL gringos are now defined as TERRORIST.
If this is the so called international rules based order that the west keep singing about, I find it no different than the law of the jungle.
Here is the problem for the US and Israel, both are now tied to the hip as global pariah terrorist states.
There are two eras – war time and peace time. During peacetime, China and Russia win. Everybody wants to trade with them. Uncle Sam gets jealous. He starts smashing up a small country, kills some people and attempts to rig things in his favor. Over time, peace time returns and China and Russia win again. Rinse and repeat.
You see if we extrapolate and game this cycle, it proves the West is THE source of instability around our globe. At a fundamental level, the West cannot compete using fair methods. It is why lying, stealing, killing and cheating is their only anthem. But it gets worse. With each bout of wanton disregard for humanity and sovereignty, it pushes others away.
Have you ever seen an abusive relationship? Unless the victim has Stockholm Syndrome like Japan and Europe, a healthy person runs for the hills. If you think about it, there are fewer nations in the world where the West has not meddled in and aggressed against than those they have.
If everybody in the world behaved like the US and Israel, this planet would be set back 3000 years.
The US National Security Strategy came early this year.
Next is Cuba which totally depends on Venezuela for its oil and thus will implode to Rubio’s delight.
And with Panama under US thumbs, Brazil’s Lula watching closely the fate of Maduro and Argentina’s pro-US Millei returned for another term, Peru’s pro-economic tilt to China will be a next target and Sheinbaum will be wondering if the US won’t next militarily sicario-rize the Mexican cartels with both Mexico and Carney’s Canada up for pressure at the forthcoming review of the North American trade pact.
Another aspect which you would have already noticed is that US foreign interventions are often designed with two-in-one tactical objectives. Venezuela for oil with bonus regime change of Cuba is a current example. There are many others.
Meanwhile, the oil dynamics has changed to the chagrin of Saudi Arabia and UAE in a Middle East already outsourced to a US-dependent Israel which also contains Syria thus affecting Turkiye.
As far as possible, all of the US’ tactical strokes involve front-force change at low financial outlays for abundant future economic harvesting – in US dollar – with straight-face backup narratives. A new twist to pure geoeconomic mercantilism.
And once Trump’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine is ‘trumpianly’ settled, the US will re-pivot back to Asia which will ignite Takaichi’s remilitarization of Japan, give ideas to South Korea and Australia, and disrupt further China’s global supply chains which in turn will deepen Europe’s already parlous dependence on the US.
Not to give it too much credit, our hegemon eagle still have some feint cards up its swooping sleeves. Out of the cauldron of chaos emerges the lava of hegemonic reach. This year is going to be more interesting.
Translation: Gringo failed to subdue Eurasia so he is sulking off to his “corner” of the world and picking low hanging fruit as consolation prizes for failing to conqeur the world island.
From now until the G2 meeting with Xi in April, Trump’s US will focus on minerals so as to blunt and weaken China’s leverage in order to enlarge the US’ demands for soybean sales and poison-pill offers of highend chips but more importantly sans their equipment tools.
As with Ukraine, Eurasia has minerals which the US is trying to acquire. The Central Asian “~tan’s”, even Pakistan, come to mind so the US’ play on Eurasia may expand but with limited progress.
The US is after all chary about investing in ‘shxx-hole’ countries but now that it has Venezuelan oil in addition to those of Iraq besides Syria, it may well do so.
In other words, using capital from one country to fund its own national interest expansion in another without touching its own balance sheets. Its success if any with that ruse will diminish China’s money diplomacy in the coming years.
Note there is yet another bonus from the Venezuela incursion stroke. It shows that while the Democrats wax about democracy, it is Trump’s extra-congressional Republican walk-the-talk which is advancing it. With view to this year’s midterm voting in November, Trump will be triumphant again.
A possible outlier that will pull the rug could be the bursting of the AI bubble. Without cross-state governance besides imponderable technical constraints, AGI will be delayed.
Meanwhile, data center costs will outrun any revenues from AI enterprise adoption which itself is hampered by the social factor of AI displacing jobs, the limiting factor of collectible subscription fees in the face of open source alternatives, the sourcing of electricity, water and coding experts, and lo behold the size of depreciation and replacement of hardware needed to run those data centers.
Which would explain why the Big Eight’s are handholding one another and using SPVs to detoxify their balance sheet financial outlays.
If the AI bubble bursts this year, the US bond market will crash and inflation will spike.
It’ll be like 2008 but this time gold, silver and crytocoins won’t be usable because who can/will buy them and in what currency since the US dollar will have fallen?
One wonders if a jewish mind is the strategist behind the US’ quasi-chaos feint to disrupt order for the US’ sole benefit. Maybe Goldman can return to offer his view.
We should be looking forward to crafting a new worldview that synthesizes all the components of geopolitical interplays important to the layman inasmuch the decision-makers whether in government or industry.
ends/
Elections mean nothing. The same owners own both parties and prevent third parties from running. Follow the billionaire money. American “democracy” is fake as kayfabe wrestling. Midterms mean nothing. Its just swapping out the banners on a decrepit building.
Piracy and plunder will not stop America’s collapse. It will only buy time – its the best those vultures can do. The math does not add up for bankrupt empires.
That $38 trillion of debt will turn into $100 trillion sooner than people expect. Enter the black swans – each new global crisis of crony capitalism, think 2001, 2008 and 2019, will plunge balance sheets deeper into debt and fiscal budgets deeper into deficits. These pirate grabs are desperate moves by an empire living on borrowed time.
Empires first collapse morally and intellectually. This leads to financial collapse which causes military collapse. The USA of 1776 is dead. I fail to see how AGI will help them other than killing off the Consti tution for good, which Zionists want. The US is killing its own system to become like China. This will inevitably cause internal collapse. If the US actually adhered to human rights, free speech, free markets, the billionaires stand to lose alot. The Jews will not give up power over their golden calf in America. They are clinching onto the LAST Western empire in history, they know nobody in the world would commit suicide for them other than USA.
It would be terrible to think that US playbook may be turned on itself. US tankers stealing oil getting attacked. US pipelines and oil installations getting droned and bombed. US puppets getting going pop. Mysterious fires at US property.
Reap what you sow, gringo.
This is easy, just use the US playbook against ay incoming puppet the white apes install. Guerilla war against US puppets, and oil installations.
Putin is outraged by US attacking Venezuela…. because he can’t do the same/
Pacman !
Any sane person would be outraged at this lawless behavior. You white apes are setting terrible precedents.
Come on Rules…. this is the US behaving ostentatiously not behind the scenes.
You should be happy
This is how you whiteys play – it is why nobody takes the West seriously except small weak easy prey.
We are the ubermensch, we made the rules, which we are now enforcing.
My handle describes your pathetic “system”. You do not even follow your own rules. You are just dressed up apes pretending to be civilized.
Sorry, enforcing again.
You are not an American. Stop your delusional rantings from your wheelchair and finish the apple sauce.
😁😁😁🇺🇲🌏‼️😁😁😁