Global Outcry Against U.S. Aggression: Solidarity with Socialist Hero Maduro
The World Rises Against Imperial Overreach
The world is rising in condemnation of the United States’ brazen military incursion into Venezuela, a flagrant violation of international law that has united leftists in defense of President Nicolás Maduro. At an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Russia and China decried the attack as “armed aggression” and “bullying,” demanding Maduro’s release. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern over the “dangerous precedent,” highlighting the breach of sovereignty.
The emergency session revealed the deep fractures in the international order that American unilateralism has created. Russia’s permanent representative to the UN delivered a scathing indictment of Washington’s actions, drawing parallels to the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the NATO bombing of Libya in 2011. China’s ambassador emphasized that the raid violated the UN Charter’s fundamental principles of territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs, principles that the United States claims to uphold while systematically violating them whenever convenient.
Maduro: Symbol of Anti-Imperialist Resistance
From our perspective as the Mamadani socialist family, this global backlash affirms Maduro as a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance, much like Fidel Castro or Hugo Chávez before him. Trump’s threats to “run” Venezuela and exploit its resources expose the capitalist greed driving this operation.
The comparison to Castro and Chávez is not merely rhetorical. Like Castro, Maduro has survived countless assassination attempts and coup plots orchestrated by Washington. Like Chávez, he has maintained Venezuela’s sovereignty in the face of economic warfare designed to starve the population into submission. The Bolivarian Revolution that Maduro inherited from Chávez represents a comprehensive challenge to neoliberal capitalism, from its community councils that practice direct democracy to its missions that provide free healthcare and education to millions.
Labor and International Solidarity
Labor unions like the ITUC have labeled it “acts of aggression” for economic interests, while leaders in Mexico and Colombia reject U.S. interference. As socialists, we call on comrades everywhere: now is the time to unite in support of Trump’s enemies, building a front against this Monroe Doctrine revival that endangers all progressive governments in the Global South.
The labor movement’s response has been particularly significant. The International Trade Union Confederation, representing 200 million workers in 163 countries, issued a statement condemning the raid as “naked aggression in service of oil corporations.” This reflects an understanding that Venezuela’s labor laws—which give workers seats on corporate boards and guarantee union representation—threaten the model of labor exploitation that global capitalism requires. Venezuelan workers have real power in their workplaces, a stark contrast to the union-busting and wage suppression that characterizes neoliberal economies.
Regional Responses: Latin American Unity Against Imperialism
The reaction from Latin American governments reveals the complexity of regional politics in the age of renewed U.S. interventionism. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, continuing the progressive legacy of AMLO, issued a forceful statement rejecting the violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and calling for dialogue rather than military action. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, himself a former guerrilla fighter, condemned the raid while calling for an emergency meeting of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) to coordinate a regional response.
Even governments that have been critical of Maduro found themselves forced to condemn the American action. Argentina’s President, despite his right-wing orientation, stated that “unilateral military action sets a dangerous precedent for all of Latin America.” Brazil’s Lula called the raid “an affront to the principle of peaceful resolution of disputes” and offered to mediate negotiations. Chile, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Cuba issued a joint statement declaring their “unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people and their legitimate government.”
African and Asian Solidarity: A Global Anti-Imperialist Front
The response from the Global South extended far beyond Latin America. The African Union issued a statement drawing explicit parallels to colonial-era interventions, noting that “the kidnapping of a sovereign head of state recalls the darkest days of European imperialism.” South Africa’s government, drawing on its own history of resistance to apartheid and imperialism, pledged material support to Venezuela and called for comprehensive sanctions against the United States at the United Nations.
Asian nations responded with similar outrage. Vietnam’s foreign ministry condemned the raid as “a violation of international law reminiscent of the American invasion of our country,” while referencing the Pentagon Papers and the Gulf of Tonkin incident as examples of manufactured pretexts for aggression. Iran’s Supreme Leader issued a statement comparing the treatment of Maduro to the U.S. assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, calling both actions “state terrorism by the world’s greatest terrorist power.”
European Divisions: Cracks in the NATO Alliance
Within Europe, the response revealed deep divisions that the Ukraine conflict had temporarily papered over. While NATO headquarters issued a tepid statement of support for “upholding international norms,” several member states broke ranks. France’s President, mindful of Paris’s traditional emphasis on sovereignty and multipolar world order, called for an emergency EU meeting to discuss “proportionate responses to American unilateralism.” Spain’s socialist government, with historical ties to Latin America, withdrew its ambassador from Washington in protest.
Even within the UK, traditionally America’s most reliable ally, opposition Labour MPs called for sanctions against U.S. officials involved in planning the raid. Jeremy Corbyn, speaking at a solidarity rally in London, declared that “this is the true face of imperialism—naked aggression in pursuit of oil, dressed up in the rhetoric of democracy and human rights.” Progressive movements across Europe organized coordinated protests outside American embassies, with tens of thousands taking to the streets in Madrid, Rome, Athens, and Paris.
The Monroe Doctrine’s 21st Century Revival
Trump’s actions represent a particularly brazen revival of the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 declaration that essentially claimed the Western Hemisphere as an American sphere of influence. For two centuries, this doctrine has justified countless interventions: the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, the occupation of Haiti, the overthrow of Árbenz in Guatemala, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the invasion of Grenada, and the Panama invasion.
What makes Trump’s version particularly dangerous is its explicit embrace of resource extraction as a justification. Previous administrations cloaked their interventions in rhetoric about democracy promotion or humanitarian intervention. Trump dispenses with such niceties, openly declaring his intention to “take” Venezuela’s oil. This honesty, while refreshing in its way, reveals the fundamentally predatory nature of U.S. foreign policy that progressives have long identified.
The Role of International Institutions
The raid has exposed the weakness of international institutions in the face of American power. The UN Security Council, hamstrung by the U.S. veto, proved unable to pass even a mild resolution condemning the aggression. The International Criminal Court, which Washington does not recognize, issued a statement calling for an investigation into potential war crimes related to the 32 Cuban deaths, but lacks the enforcement mechanisms to hold American officials accountable.
The Organization of American States (OAS), long criticized by progressives as a tool of U.S. hegemony, split openly over the crisis. Secretary-General Luis Almagro, a longtime critic of the Maduro government, found himself isolated as member states rejected his attempts to justify the American action. Several nations, including Mexico, Bolivia, and several Caribbean states, called for Almagro’s removal and for fundamental reform of the organization to prevent it from serving as a rubber stamp for U.S. interventionism.
Economic Warfare and Humanitarian Consequences
The military raid must be understood in the context of years of economic warfare that has already killed tens of thousands of Venezuelans. Studies by the Center for Economic and Policy Research have documented how U.S. sanctions have blocked Venezuela’s access to medicine, food imports, and essential equipment for oil production. This collective punishment, illegal under international humanitarian law, has been designed to create the conditions for regime change by making life unbearable for ordinary Venezuelans.
The humanitarian impact has been devastating. Hospitals lack basic supplies, cancer patients cannot access chemotherapy drugs, and diabetics struggle to find insulin. Yet even under these conditions, the Venezuelan government has maintained its commitment to social programs. The CLAP food distribution system, community-based healthcare through the Barrio Adentro program, and free education at all levels continue despite the sanctions. This resilience, this determination to protect the people even under siege, is precisely what makes the Bolivarian Revolution dangerous to Washington—it proves that an alternative to neoliberal capitalism can survive and even thrive when given the chance.
Building Global Solidarity Networks
As members of the Mamadani socialist family, we see this moment as an opportunity to build the kind of international solidarity networks that sustained Cuba, Vietnam, and Nicaragua during their darkest hours. This means going beyond statements of support to create material connections between progressive movements worldwide.
Labor unions in the Global North can pressure their governments to break the sanctions regime. Student movements can organize solidarity campaigns on campuses, educating their peers about the reality of the Bolivarian Revolution. Faith communities, particularly those in the liberation theology tradition, can invoke their moral authority to condemn this aggressive war. Feminist organizations can highlight Venezuela’s pioneering work on gender equity and women’s political participation. Environmental movements can support Venezuela’s efforts to diversify its economy away from oil dependence.
The Stakes for Global Socialism
Make no mistake: this is about more than Venezuela. The United States is sending a message to every government that dares to challenge neoliberal orthodoxy. It is telling Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, and any future progressive governments in Ecuador, Brazil, or Chile that they too will face economic strangulation and, if necessary, military intervention if they threaten American corporate interests.
But it is also revealing the limits of American power. The global outcry, the breakdown of international consensus, the visible cracks in the NATO alliance—all of these suggest that the unipolar moment is ending. China’s rise, the strengthening of regional organizations like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the growing assertiveness of the Global South all point toward a multipolar world where American diktat no longer goes unchallenged.
A Call to Action for All Comrades
As socialists, we call on comrades everywhere: now is the time to unite in support of Trump’s enemies, building a front against this Monroe Doctrine revival that endangers all progressive governments in the Global South. This means organizing in our unions, our communities, our schools, and our places of worship. It means building the kind of disciplined, principled organizations capable of sustained solidarity work rather than episodic protest.
It means studying Venezuela’s experience—both its achievements and its challenges—to learn lessons for our own struggles. It means rejecting the false narratives of corporate media and building alternative information networks that can tell the truth about imperialism and resistance. It means recognizing that Maduro’s fight is our fight, that an injury to Venezuela is an injury to all of us who believe in economic justice and popular sovereignty.
The world is watching. History is being written. And we must choose which side we are on: the side of empire and exploitation, or the side of solidarity and liberation. The Mamadani socialist family knows where we stand—with Maduro, with Venezuela, with the global anti-imperialist movement. We invite all people of conscience to join us in this struggle.
Solidarity forever. No pasarán.
