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Tag: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

  • Majority of UN Security Council rejects the US attack on Venezuela

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    Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    UNSC emergency session on US attack on Venezuela. Photo: X

    In this piece, we review the arguments made by members of the United Nations Security Council regarding the US attack on Venezuela on January 3.

    The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on January 3 in response to the US attack on Venezuela, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

    The high-level diplomatic meeting was marked by two clearly distinguishable positions: those who supported Washington’s actions and those who rejected them, claiming they violated international law and the South American country’s national sovereignty.

    Rosemary DiCarlo, representative of the Secretary-General, said that the actions could generate greater instability in the nation: “We meet at a grave time following the January 3 United States military action in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.” In addition, DiCarlo, following the statements of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, emphasized that the attack constituted a military aggression that violates the UN Charter.

    Future of the UN Charter at stake

    Renowned scholar Jeffrey D. Sachs, president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, also addressed the session and highlighted that beyond the immediate violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, the US actions constitute an existential threat to the entire UN system. “The issue before the Council today is not the character of the government of Venezuela. The issue is whether any Member State—by force, coercion, or economic strangulation—has the right to determine Venezuela’s political future or to exercise control over its affairs. This question goes directly to Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

    Sachs implored the UNSC to take action and call on the US to end its military threats and attacks against Venezuela, end its naval blockade, and withdraw its military forces from the Caribbean which have been amassing since August.

    Sachs affirmed that, “Peace and the survival of humanity depend on whether the United Nations Charter remains a living instrument of international law or is allowed to wither into irrelevance.”

    Neocolonialism, illegality and imperialism: condemnation of the attack

    Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s representative to the Security Council, strongly condemned the US military actions against his country. He stated that what happened on January 3 constituted an “illegitimate armed attack” that lacked legal justification and violated the UN Charter, the Geneva Convention, and the principles of sovereignty. The situation also calls into question the “credibility of international law,” as it seems that “the law is optional” when it is one country and not another that “kidnaps a head of state”.

    China

    Along the same lines, Fu Cong, representative of China, said: “[China] strongly condemns the unilateral, illegal, and bullying acts against Venezuela.” “[The United States] wantonly tramples upon Venezuela’s sovereignty, security, and legitimate rights and interests,” he said. He also called on the United States to return to dialogue to reach a peaceful solution.

    Cuba

    Cuba, for its part, categorically rejected the “imperialist and fascist aggressions” of the United States and warned of “criminal and hegemonic plans” that Washington is carrying out. In addition, the Cuban representative stated that the United States commits acts of economic suffocation and maritime terrorism against the governments it seeks to overthrow, which is in flagrant contradiction with the UN Charter and international law. He asserted that the objective behind the “kidnapping” of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, is to gain “control over Venezuela’s land and natural resources.”

    Russia

    Likewise, the representative of the Russian Federation, Vassily Nebenzia, condemned the “armed aggression” against Venezuela for violating international law and demanded the immediate release of the “legitimately-elected president”, Nicolás Maduro. He also called for an end to fear and hypocrisy in the face of US actions that seek to justify “such an egregious act of aggression [out of fear of the] American global gendarme.” Finally, he stated that the actions of the United States constitute new examples of “neocolonialism and imperialism”.

    Colombia

    For her part, Leonor Zalabata said that her country, Colombia, strongly condemns the actions of January 3, and affirmed that the use of force, according to the UN Charter, can only be used in exceptional situations, such as self-defense, but never to take political control of another state, as Trump said he would do with Venezuela. The attacks, she added, could lead to a large-scale migration that would require significant budget allocations to care for the migrants. Colombia shares thousands of kilometers of border with Venezuela, and Trump has directly threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro with carrying out a similar attack on Colombian territory.

    Mexico

    Mexico also strongly criticized the military attack and stated that such actions “should not be allowed” because they jeopardize multilateralism and international law. It called on members to abandon double standards and “act decisively” in respect for the national sovereignty of the peoples of each country, who are the only ones authorized to decide “their destiny”.

    Brazil

    Brazil also joined in the criticism. Representative Sérgio França stated that “South America is a zone of peace,” and therefore his country rejects military intervention in Venezuela, which “crossed an unacceptable line”, and violates the UN Charter and international law.

    Read more: “We’re going to run the country”: Trump hints at possible US occupation of Venezuela

    The violation of international law: moderate criticism of the United States

    Several members of the Security Council also criticized Washington’s actions, albeit indirectly or less forcefully. 

    United Kingdom

    Among them was the United Kingdom, whose representative, James Kariuki, stated that his country reaffirms its commitment to international law and the principles of the United Nations. However, he also criticized the actions of the Maduro government for allegedly increasing poverty, repressing the opposition, and the illegitimacy of his government.

    Panama

    Along the same lines, Panama’s representative, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, condemned the US attack. He stated that US military actions could have very serious consequences for peace in the Latin American region. He also stressed that his country, which suffered a US invasion between 1989 and 1990, reaffirms its respect for the sovereignty of nations. However, he also took the time to criticize what he called Maduro’s illegitimate and authoritarian government, which he said had eroded the democratic system after the 2024 elections.

    Chile

    Chile was another country that criticized the US military actions “unilaterally in Venezuela,” according to the South American country’s representative, Paula Narváez. “Chile does not recognize the Maduro regime, but serious human rights violations… cannot be resolved militarily and can only be addressed through peaceful, gradual, and incisive processes.”

    “There is no war”: in defense of the US attack

    For his part, US representative Michael Waltz defended his government’s actions and stated that “there is no war against Venezuela or its people”. On the contrary, Waltz argued that the attack was “a surgical law enforcement operation to apprehend two indicted fugitives, [the] narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro and Celia Flores.”

    Argentina

    Another country that openly supported the attack was Argentina. Its representative, Francisco Tropepi, welcomed Trump’s “decisive action” and stated that it was justified by Maduro’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking. However, he called for the situation to be normalized and for institutional order to be restored as soon as possible.

    Latvia

    Along the same lines, Latvia’s representative, Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, indirectly justified the radical measure taken by the United States when she told the Security Council that Maduro’s government had violated human rights and encouraged drug trafficking and corruption.

    The international community and international law are under threat

    However, despite some direct and indirect support, the United States’ actions have not been well received by the majority of the United Nations Security Council. Several of its members understand that if such actions are not strongly condemned, they could pave the way for similar military actions in other parts of the world.

    Asian and African countries fear a new wave of colonialism in their lands, and Europeans, many of whom do not support Maduro, see expansionist arguments looming over Greenland, which have not been heard in Europe for centuries.

    Read more: Africa voices outrage against US invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of President Maduro

    Thus, the international community and international law (both structured after the defeat of the Axis in 1945) face an immense challenge following the attack on Venezuela. Whether they will emerge stronger or weakened will become clear in the coming months.

    Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    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.
    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.

  • After Claiming Maduro Was Its Kingpin, DOJ Now Admits in Court That ‘Cartel De Los Soles’ Isn’t a Real Group

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

    Overthrown Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

    “They’ve been pretending that this made-up thing was real for a year. But now that they’d have actually to demonstrate its existence in court, they’re going to cram it down the memory hole.”

    One of the central claims the Trump administration has used to justify the overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and describe his government as “illegitimate” is the allegation that he is the leader of a multinational narco-terrorist organization known as “Cartel de los Soles.”

    But now that the Department of Justice (DOJ) must prove the allegation in court following the US military’s kidnapping of Maduro last week, prosecutors are backing off the claim and, in effect, admitting what critics had long protested: that Cartel de los Soles is not, in fact, an organization at all.

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    In the months leading up to the illegal US invasion that plucked Maduro from power, the Treasury Department and State Department both designated Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization.

    That allegation originated from a 2020 grand jury indictment of Maduro, drafted by the DOJ during Trump’s first term. The document described the Cartel de los Soles as a “Venezuelan drug-trafficking organization comprised of high-ranking Venezuelan officials.”

    As the New York Times explained back in November:

    There’s a big catch with the impression created by the Trump administration’s narrative: Cartel de los Soles is not a literal organization, according to a range of specialists in Latin American criminal and narcotics issues, from think-tank analysts to former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials.

    It is instead a figure of speech in Venezuela, dating back to the 1990s, for Venezuelan military officials corrupted by drug money, they say. The term, which means “Cartel of the Suns,” is a mocking invocation of the suns Venezuelan generals wear to denote their rank, like American ones wear stars.

    It is for that reason that the DEA’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment, which describes major trafficking organizations in detail, has never mentioned Cartel de los Soles. Nor has the annual “World Drug Report“ by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

    Nevertheless, the claim that Maduro was at the helm of an international terrorist cartel was a core justification the Trump administration has used over the past year to legitimize pushing him out of power.

    “Maduro is NOT the President of Venezuela and his regime is NOT the legitimate government,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a post on social media in July. “Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization that has taken possession of a country. And he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States.”

    Such a portrayal was useful when attempting to drum up support for US aggression against Venezuela. But now, Maduro stands on trial in the Southern District of New York, where a jury will decide his guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented after he pleaded not guilty on Monday.

    Elizabeth Dickinson, the deputy director for Latin America at the International Crisis Group, told the New York Times that the designation of Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terror organization was “far from reality,” but that “designations don’t have to be proved in court, and that’s the difference. Clearly, they knew they could not prove it in court.”

    Following Maduro’s abduction by US forces on Saturday, the DOJ released a new indictment. While it still accused Maduro of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, it totally abandoned the claim that any organization called “Cartel de los Soles” actually existed.

    To the extent that any such group does exist, the indictment says it’s not as a criminal organization, but as “a culture of corruption in which powerful Venezuelan elites enrich themselves through drug trafficking,” and a “patronage system run by those at the top.”

    But even a day after the new indictment fatally undercut his claims, Rubio continued to insist on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Cartel de los Soles was a “transnational criminal organization” and that “the leader of that cartel,” Maduro, “is now in US custody and facing US justice in the Southern District of New York.”

    “They’ve been pretending that this made-up thing was real for a year. But now that they’d have to actually demonstrate its existence in court, they’re going to cram it down the memory hole,” marvelled Derek Davison, a Washington-based researcher and writer on international affairs and American politics.

    Ben Norton, editor of the Geopolitical Economy Report, wrote on social media that the administration’s abrupt abandonment of one of its central justifications for war demonstrates that “the entire US war is based on lies.”

    While the initial phase of Trump’s ramp-up of military aggression against Venezuela was premised, with scant evidence, on the need to prevent alleged drug boats from reaching the US, President Donald Trump has now said explicitly that the administration’s goal is to take control of Venezuela’s massive oil reserves and hand them to US-based companies.

    “It never had anything to do with drugs. Venezuela’s role in the global cocaine trade is small and insignificant, and it has absolutely nothing to do with fentanyl (which is actually responsible for many drug-related deaths in the US, unlike cocaine),” Norton said. “The Trump administration’s repeated invocation of the fake ‘Cartel de los Soles’ was its version of the weapons of mass destruction lie used by George W. Bush to try to justify his illegal invasion of Iraq.”

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

    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    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.
    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.

  • With Global Attention on Venezuela, Israel Intensifies Assault on Gaza, Lebanon

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

    A woman carries a child as Palestinians whose homes were destroyed by Israeli attacks try to continue their lives in heavily damaged and unusable buildings in the Hamad al-Shihri area of Khan Younis, Gaza, on January 5, 2026. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    Israeli forces reported blew up a 5-year-old girl and wounded two other children a day after fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy in Gaza.

    With the world captivated by and concerned over the Trump administration’s weekend abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, continuing its devastating US-backed response to the Hamas-led October 2023 attack.

    In Gaza, where Israel faces widespread accusations of genocide, an Israeli strike on Monday “hit a tent housing displaced people, killing a 5-year-old girl and her uncle and wounding two other children,” the Associated Press reported, citing officials at Nasser Hospital. “Family members wept over the bodies as they were brought to the hospital.”

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    The Israel Defense Forces used one of its common claims for when it kills civilians. According to the AP, the IDF said that it struck a Hamas militant who planned an imminent attack on Israeli troops in Gaza, the strike complied with the ceasefire agreement, and it was conducted in a targeted way to limit civilian harm.

    The tent strike in the Muwasi area northwest of Khan Younis came a day after Israeli forces shot and killed at least three Palestinians in that city on Sunday. According to Reuters, “Medics reported that the dead included a 15‑year‑old boy, a fisherman killed outside areas still occupied by Israel in the enclave, and a third man who was shot and killed east of the city in areas under Israeli control.”

    Israel has killed at least 422 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 1,189 since reaching the ceasefire deal with Hamas three months ago. The overall death toll in the strip has climbed to at least 71,388, with another 171,269 people injured, according to local health officials. Global experts warn the true counts are likely far higher.

    Meanwhile, according to Al Jazeera, journalists on the ground in the illegally occupied Palestinian territory observed that the IDF “has spent the past 24 hours expanding the so-called ‘yellow line’ in eastern Gaza,” or the boundary behind which Israeli forces officially withdrew as part of the October deal.

    Al Jazeera‘s Hani Mahmoud reported from Gaza City:

    The ongoing Israeli attacks on the ground, the expansion of the “yellow line,” are meant to eat up more of the territory across the eastern part, really shrinking the total area where people are sheltering.

    Everyone is cramped here. The population here not just doubled but tripled in many of the neighborhoods, given the fact that none of these people is able to go back to their neighborhoods. We’re talking about Zeitoun, Shujayea, as well as Tuffah.

    It was not until the past few minutes that the sounds of hums, the drones buzzing, faded away, but it had been going on for the past night and all of yesterday. Ongoing explosions that could be heard clearly from here.

    Mahmoud also reported that “there’s nothing on the ground other than the headlines we’ve been reading over the past couple of days, the expectation now that within days the Rafah crossing is going to open and allow for movement in and out of Gaza. So far, we know the Israeli military is pushing for Rafah to be just a one-way exit.”

    Throughout the Israeli assault, far-right officials in Israel have ramped up calls to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its Palestinian population and recolonize the territory. There has also been a surge in violence from Israeli settlers and soldiers against Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank over the past two years, as well as renewed settlement-building efforts there.

    Laila Al-Arian, an American journalist and executive producer for Al Jazeera‘s documentary series “Fault Lines,” said on social media Sunday, “With eyes on Venezuela, Israel is bombing Gaza and escalating its assault on the West Bank.”

    In November 2024, nearly a year before the ceasefire agreement in Hamas, Israel struck a deal with the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah—and, since then, as with Gaza, has repeatedly violated it.

    Israel launched strikes on eastern and southern Lebanon on Monday after an IDF spokesperson said the military would target alleged Hezbollah sites in Kfar Hatta and Ain el-Tineh, and Hamas sites in Annan and al-Manara.

    Al Jazeera reported that “Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a drone strike on a car in the southern village of Braikeh earlier Monday wounded two people. The Israeli military said the strike targeted two Hezbollah members.”

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

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    Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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    Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

  • ‘I Consider Myself a Prisoner of War,’ Says Maduro, Pleading Not Guilty in US Court

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

    Handcuffed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is escorted by US agents toward a Manhattan courthouse after landing at a helipad on January 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

    “I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I remain the president of my country.”

    Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called himself a “prisoner of war” while pleading not guilty to narco-terrorism charges in a US court in New York City on Monday, after the Trump administration abducted him and his wife in an overnight raid that killed dozens of people.

    “I am the president of Venezuela, and I consider myself a prisoner of war. They captured me in my house in Caracas,” Maduro said in Spanish at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse. “I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I remain the president of my country.”

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    After being seized by US forces before dawn on Saturday, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were moved to a Brooklyn jail, over the objections of New York City’s recently inaugurated mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who called President Donald Trump after the military operation.

    The Associated Press reported on the couple’s transfer to the Manhattan courthouse early Monday:

    A motorcade carrying Maduro left jail around 7:15 am and made its way to a nearby athletic field, where Maduro slowly made his way to a waiting helicopter. The chopper flew across New York Harbor and landed at a Manhattan heliport, where Maduro, limping, was loaded into an armored vehicle.

    A few minutes later, the law enforcement caravan was inside a garage at the courthouse complex, just around the corner from the one where Donald Trump was convicted in 2024 of falsifying business records. Across the street from the courthouse, the police separated a small but growing group of protesters from about a dozen pro-intervention demonstrators, including one man who pulled a Venezuelan flag away from those protesting the US action.

    The 25-page US indictment released Saturday claims that Maduro, who previously served in Venezuela’s National Assembly and as the South American country’s minister of foreign affairs, “has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.”

    Maduro “now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” the document continues. “That drug trafficking has enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.”

    Like her husband, Flores pleaded “not guilty, completely innocent,” during the Monday arraignment. According to CNN, reporters observed bandages on Flores’ head and her attorney, Mark Donnelly, told the presiding judge that she sustained “significant injuries during her abduction,” including possibly bruised or fractured ribs.

    The presiding judge is Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old appointed to the Southern District of New York by former President Bill Clinton. Al Jazeera noted that he “has overseen numerous high-profile cases in his career, including relating to the 9/11 attacks and the Sudanese genocide.”

    “It’s my job to assure this is a fair trial,” said Hellerstein, who scheduled the next hearing for March 17.

    The weekend abduction has sparked global protests, comparisons to the US invasion of Iraq, demands for Trump’s impeachment, concerns about the involvement of American oil companies, and fears of the White House’s threats of more military action elsewhere.

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

    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.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    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.

  • ‘Unquestionably an Act of War’: Trump Declares Naval Blockade Against Venezuela

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

    Oil tankers are seen anchored in Lake Maracaibo after loading crude oil at Venezuela’s Bajo Grande Refinery port on December 4, 2025.
     (Photo by Jose Bula Urrutia/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    “This is the Iraq War 2.0 with a South American flavor to it,” warned one Democratic senator.

    US President Donald Trump late Tuesday declared a blockade on “all sanctioned oil tankers” approaching and leaving Venezuela, a major escalation in what’s widely seen as an accelerating march to war with the South American country.

    The “total and complete blockade,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, will only be lifted when Venezuela returns to the US “all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”

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    “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump wrote, referring to the massive US military buildup in the Caribbean. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.”

    The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which has mobilized its military in response to the US president’s warmongering, denounced Trump’s comments as a “grotesque threat” aimed at “stealing the riches that belong to our homeland.”

    The US-based anti-war group CodePink said in a statement that “Trump’s assertion that Venezuela must ‘return’ oil, land, and other assets to the United States exposes the true objective” of his military campaign.

    “Venezuela did not steal anything from the United States. What Trump describes as ‘theft’ is Venezuela’s lawful assertion of sovereignty over its own natural resources and its refusal to allow US corporations to control its economy,” said CodePink. “A blockade, a terrorist designation, and a military buildup are steps toward war. Congress must act immediately to stop this escalation, and the international community must reject this lawless threat.”

    The announced naval blockade—an act of aggression under international law—came a week after the Trump administration seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela and made clear that it intends to intercept more.

    US Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), one of the leaders of a war powers resolution aimed at preventing the Trump administration from launching a war on Venezuela without congressional approval, said Tuesday that “a naval blockade is unquestionably an act of war.”

    “A war that the Congress never authorized and the American people do not want,” Castro added, noting that a vote on his resolution is set for Thursday. “Every member of the House of Representatives will have the opportunity to decide if they support sending Americans into yet another regime change war.”

    “This is absolutely an effort to get us involved in a war in Venezuela.”

    Human rights organizations have accused the Republican-controlled Congress of abdicating its responsibilities as the Trump administration takes belligerent and illegal actions in international waters and against Venezuela directly, claiming without evidence to be combating drug trafficking.

    Last month, Senate Republicans—some of whom are publicly clamoring for the US military to overthrow Maduro’s government—voted down a Venezuela war powers resolution. Two GOP senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined Democrats in supporting the resolution.

    Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, wrote Tuesday that “the White House minimized Republican ‘yes’ votes by promising that Trump would seek Congress’ authorization before initiating hostilities against Venezuela itself.”

    “Trump today broke that promise to his own party’s lawmakers by ordering a partial blockade on Venezuelan ships,” wrote Williams. “A blockade, including a partial one, definitively constitutes an act of war. Trump is starting a war against Venezuela without congressional authorization.”

    Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) warned in a television appearance late Monday that members of the Trump administration are “going to do everything they can to get us into this war.”

    “This is the Iraq War 2.0 with a South American flavor to it,” he added. “This is absolutely an effort to get us involved in a war in Venezuela.”

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

    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.