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Defying Trump, Venezuela VP Says ‘We Will Never Again Be a Colony of Any Empire’

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a presentation in Caracas on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Pedro Mattey/AFP via Getty Images)

“What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric,” said Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role of interim president following the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role of interim president following the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro, said in a televised address Saturday that “we will never again be a colony of any empire,” defying the Trump administration’s plan to indefinitely control Venezuela’s government and exploit its vast oil reserves.

“We are determined to be free,” declared Rodríguez, who demanded that the US release Maduro from custody and said he is still Venezuela’s president.

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“What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric,” she added.

Rodríguez’s defiant remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed he is “designating various people” to run Venezuela’s government, suggested American troops could be deployed, and threatened a “second wave” of attacks on the country if its political officials don’t bow to the Trump administration’s demands.

Trump also threatened “all political and military figures in Venezuela,” warning that “what happened to Maduro can happen to them.” Maduro is currently detained in Brooklyn and facing fresh US charges.

Rodríguez’s public remarks contradicted the US president’s claim that she privately pledged compliance with the Trump administration’s attempts to control Venezuela’s political system and oil infrastructure. The interim president delivered her remarks alongside top Venezuelan officials, including legislative and judicial leaders, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, a projection of unity in the face of US aggression.

“Doesn’t feel like a nation that is ready to let Donald Trump and Marco Rubio ‘run it,’” said US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who condemned the Trump administration for “starting an illegal war with Venezuela that Americans didn’t ask for and has nothing to do with our security.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Continue ReadingDefying Trump, Venezuela VP Says ‘We Will Never Again Be a Colony of Any Empire’

Morning Star Editorial: Trump’s US is out of control – stand with Venezuela and its revolution

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/trumps-us-out-control-stand-venezuela-and-its-revolution

 President Donald Trump points to a reporter to ask a question during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, January 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla.

DONALD TRUMP’S unprovoked attack on Venezuela and his kidnapping of its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, to face trumped-up drug-trafficking charges in New York, are an outrage against international law and the sovereignty of nation states.

They confirm that the undisguised seizure of other countries’ resources is to be the new normal for the outlaw regime in Washington — and, in line with its National Security Strategy published in November, that it will act to break every government in Latin America that pursues an independent foreign or domestic policy.

Trump’s accusations that the Venezuelan state is involved in drug-trafficking — which have already led to the murder of well over 100 seafarers on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific — have been levelled too at the Mexican government, and Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.

While bragging about his plans for Venezuela on Saturday Trump indicated that socialist Cuba is also something “we’ll end up talking about,” while his rants about Venezuela having “stolen” (that is, taken into public ownership) oil reserves that had been exploited by US corporations logically put any country that wants control of its natural resources on Washington’s menu.

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Original article continues and is recommended at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/trumps-us-out-control-stand-venezuela-and-its-revolution

Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Image of Mussolini & Co hanging out. What happens to Fascists.
Image of Mussolini & Co hanging out. What happens to Fascists.
Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: Trump’s US is out of control – stand with Venezuela and its revolution

Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/03/is-there-any-legal-justification-for-the-us-attack-on-venezuela-trump-maduro

The US secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, and Donald Trump at a press conference after the US strike on Venezuela. The US can veto any UN move to impose sanctions. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

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Is the US operation in Venezuela justified under international law?

The experts the Guardian spoke to agreed that the US is likely to have violated the terms of the UN charter, which was signed in October 1945 and designed to prevent another conflict on the scale of the second world war. A central provision of this agreement – known as article 2(4) – rules that states must refrain from using military force against other countries and must respect their sovereignty.

Geoffrey Robertson KC, a founding head of Doughty Street Chambers and a former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone, said the attack on Venezuela was contrary to article 2(4) of the charter. “The reality is that America is in breach of the United Nations charter,” he added. “It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, it’s the worst crime of all.”

Elvira Domínguez-Redondo, a professor of international law at Kingston University, described the operation as a “crime of aggression and unlawful use of force against another country”. Susan Breau, a professor of international law and a senior associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, agreed that the attack could have only been considered lawful if the US had a resolution from the UN security council or was acting in self-defence. “There is just no evidence whatsoever on either of those fronts,” Breau said.

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/03/is-there-any-legal-justification-for-the-us-attack-on-venezuela-trump-maduro

dizzy: I regard genocide as “the worst crime of all.”

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.

Continue ReadingIs there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?