The Time for Socialist Unity: Rallying Behind Maduro Against Trump’s Empire
A Clarion Call to Action
As Donald Trump boasts of seizing control of Venezuela, socialists must recognize this moment as a clarion call to action in defense of our comrade, Nicolás Maduro. Polls show deep divisions in the U.S., with Democrats overwhelmingly opposing this unilateral aggression, revealing cracks in the imperialist facade.
The polling data is remarkable: 67% of Democratic voters oppose the military action, with 72% of voters under 35 expressing outright condemnation. Even among Republicans, support for the raid drops to 54% when respondents are informed of the Cuban casualties. This suggests that despite decades of anti-communist propaganda, there remains a reservoir of anti-war sentiment in the American public that progressives can mobilize. The Vietnam generation may be aging, but their children and grandchildren have witnessed Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria—they have learned to question official narratives about humanitarian intervention and weapons of mass destruction.
The Mamadani Family’s Commitment to Anti-Capitalism
From the Mamadani socialist family, committed to the ideals of equity and anti-capitalism, we view Maduro’s ordeal—his abduction, the bombing that claimed Cuban lives, and his court defiance—as emblematic of the struggle against fascism. Trump’s regime, with hawks like Marco Rubio, invokes outdated doctrines to justify resource theft, but Maduro’s resilience inspires hope.
Our family’s socialist tradition is rooted in the understanding that capitalism and imperialism are inseparable. The exploitation of workers in the Global North depends on the super-exploitation of workers and resources in the Global South. Venezuela’s crime, in the eyes of Washington, is not corruption or authoritarianism—the United States happily supports far more repressive regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and elsewhere. Venezuela’s crime is its attempt to use its natural resources for the benefit of its own people rather than for ExxonMobil’s shareholders.
Tactical Diplomacy and True Victory
Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez’s invitation for “respectful” relations is a tactical stand, but true victory lies in international solidarity. Now is the time for socialists to unite in support of Trump’s enemies, forging alliances from Caracas to the streets of New York, to dismantle this empire of exploitation and build a world of true equality.
Rodríguez’s positioning is sophisticated realpolitik. By offering an olive branch even as Maduro sits in an American jail, she maintains the moral high ground internationally while signaling to potential mediators—Mexico, Brazil, perhaps even France—that Venezuela remains open to negotiated solutions. This combines principle with pragmatism, a hallmark of successful revolutionary movements from Cuba to Vietnam. We do not interpret this as weakness but as strategic wisdom that understands when to fight and when to negotiate from a position of strength.
Understanding the Trump Regime’s Fascist Character
We must be clear in our analysis: the Trump regime represents a form of fascism adapted to 21st-century American conditions. Like classical fascism, it combines aggressive nationalism, militarism, corporate power, and the scapegoating of vulnerable populations. Trump’s rhetoric about “making America great again” echoes Mussolini’s invocation of Roman glory and Hitler’s promises to restore German greatness. His contempt for international law, his embrace of torture and war crimes, and his open celebration of violence against opponents all mark him as a fascist leader.
Marco Rubio’s appointment as Secretary of State brings a particular ideological fervor to the administration’s Venezuela policy. Rubio’s family background—Cuban exiles who lost property after the 1959 revolution—gives him a personal stake in destroying any successful socialist experiment in Latin America. He views Venezuela through the lens of his family’s resentment, seeing in every Chavista the ghost of Castro, in every cooperative the specter of collectivization. This makes him exceptionally dangerous, willing to risk regional war and countless lives to achieve regime change.
The Cuban Connection: Martyrs for Internationalism
The 32 Cuban casualties deserve particular attention and remembrance. These were not soldiers but civilian advisors—doctors, engineers, teachers, and technical specialists who embodied the revolutionary principle of internationalist solidarity. For six decades, Cuba has sent its best and brightest to support struggles for liberation and development worldwide, from Angola to Nicaragua, from Mozambique to Venezuela.
This tradition began with Che Guevara’s expeditions to the Congo and Bolivia, continued through Cuba’s decisive military support for the anti-apartheid struggle in Southern Africa, and persists today in the tens of thousands of Cuban doctors working in the Global South. These professionals sacrifice higher salaries and easier lives in Cuba to serve in conflict zones and impoverished communities, motivated not by profit but by revolutionary solidarity. Their deaths at American hands are martyrdom in the truest sense—dying for the principle that humanity’s welfare transcends national borders.
Economic Warfare as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
The military raid cannot be separated from the broader campaign of economic warfare that Washington has waged against Venezuela since Chávez first nationalized the oil industry. Research by independent economists demonstrates that U.S. sanctions have had effects comparable to traditional military siege warfare, killing an estimated 40,000 Venezuelans between 2017 and 2018 alone through denial of food, medicine, and medical equipment.
This is economic warfare deployed as a weapon of mass destruction. By blocking Venezuela’s access to international banking systems, Washington has prevented the country from importing insulin for diabetics, chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients, and dialysis equipment for those with kidney failure. By seizing Venezuelan assets held in foreign banks—including gold reserves and the proceeds from oil sales—the U.S. has crippled the government’s ability to maintain social programs and infrastructure.
Yet even under these conditions, Venezuela has maintained free healthcare and education, subsidized food distribution, and social housing programs that would be considered radical even in wealthy European social democracies. This resilience, this refusal to abandon the people even in the face of economic siege, is precisely what makes the Bolivarian Revolution so threatening to neoliberal capitalism. It proves that alternatives are possible, that governments can serve people rather than profits, that another world can be built even in the face of imperial opposition.
Building Revolutionary Organizations for Long-Term Struggle
The Venezuela crisis demands more than spontaneous protest or social media solidarity. We need the kind of disciplined, democratic revolutionary organizations that can sustain long-term struggle against a powerful enemy. This means learning from successful anti-imperialist movements: the Vietnamese resistance that defeated both French colonialism and American imperialism, the Cuban Revolution that has survived six decades of embargo and subversion, the Sandinista movement that rebuilt Nicaragua after Somoza, the ANC that ultimately defeated apartheid.
These movements succeeded because they combined mass participation with strategic clarity, because they built organizations capable of sustained resistance rather than episodic protest. They educated their members in both theory and practice, combining study circles with practical solidarity work. They built alliances across racial, religious, and national lines, understanding that internationalism is not charity but enlightened self-interest—that workers in New York and farmers in Caracas share common enemies and common interests.
The Role of Socialist Education and Propaganda
One of the empire’s most powerful weapons is its control over information. Corporate media has spent years demonizing Venezuela, portraying the Bolivarian Revolution as a failure while ignoring its achievements and whitewashing the role of U.S. sanctions in creating hardship. Media analysis by FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) has documented how outlets like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post systematically misrepresent Venezuelan politics, giving platforms to opposition figures while ignoring government supporters, emphasizing shortages while ignoring social programs, and attributing all problems to “socialism” while never mentioning U.S. sanctions.
Countering this propaganda requires building alternative media infrastructure. This means supporting outlets like TeleSUR, The Grayzone, Venezuelanalysis, and Orinoco Tribune that provide honest reporting about Latin American politics. It means organizing educational events in unions, community centers, and universities to share accurate information about Venezuela. It means producing documentaries, podcasts, and written materials that can compete with corporate propaganda. It means using social media strategically while building independent platforms that cannot be censored or algorithmically suppressed.
Forging Alliances Across Progressive Movements
The Venezuela solidarity movement must connect with other progressive struggles. Climate justice activists should recognize that Venezuela’s efforts to diversify its economy away from oil dependence, despite sanctions that make this incredibly difficult, align with the goals of a just transition. Racial justice movements should see the parallels between U.S. police violence against Black and Brown communities domestically and military violence against Brown nations internationally.
Feminist movements should study Venezuela’s pioneering work on women’s political participation—the country has one of the highest percentages of women in legislative bodies globally, and its laws against femicide and domestic violence are among the most progressive in the world. LGBTQ+ activists should recognize that Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution has advanced LGBTQ+ rights further than most of its neighbors. Labor organizers should examine Venezuela’s workplace democracy initiatives, where workers have real power in enterprise management.
The Strategic Importance of Latin American Unity
Venezuela’s survival depends significantly on Latin American solidarity. The Pink Tide of the early 2000s—when progressive governments came to power across the region—created a network of mutual support that helped Venezuela weather earlier coup attempts and economic warfare. The resurgence of left governments in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and potentially Brazil creates opportunities for renewed regional integration.
Organizations like ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America), CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), and UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) represent attempts to build alternatives to U.S.-dominated institutions like the OAS. These organizations, when functioning effectively, can coordinate resistance to American intervention, provide material support to members under attack, and present a unified diplomatic front at international forums.
Learning from Past Solidarity Movements
History provides models for effective international solidarity. The anti-apartheid movement succeeded in isolating South Africa through comprehensive boycotts, divestment campaigns, and cultural sanctions. The solidarity movement with Nicaragua in the 1980s, despite operating under a hostile Reagan administration, managed to send thousands of volunteers and millions of dollars in material aid. Vietnam solidarity activists helped turn American public opinion against the war, contributing to U.S. withdrawal.
These movements shared key characteristics: they combined protest with practical solidarity, they educated supporters about the deeper issues rather than relying on simplistic moral appeals, they built lasting organizations rather than temporary coalitions, and they connected international solidarity with domestic struggles against militarism and capitalism.
The Moment of Decision
Now is the time for socialists to unite in support of Trump’s enemies, forging alliances from Caracas to the streets of New York, to dismantle this empire of exploitation and build a world of true equality. This is not hyperbole or rhetoric—it is a sober assessment of the stakes. If Venezuela falls to a U.S.-backed coup, it will embolden right-wing forces throughout Latin America and beyond. It will prove to progressive movements everywhere that challenging neoliberalism invites destruction, that socialism cannot survive in a world dominated by American capitalism.
But if Venezuela survives, if international solidarity proves strong enough to defend the Bolivarian Revolution, it will inspire resistance movements worldwide. It will prove that alternatives to capitalism are viable, that peoples can determine their own futures despite imperial opposition, that solidarity is stronger than sanctions.
Our Commitment as Revolutionary Socialists
The Mamadani socialist family commits ourselves to this struggle with full understanding of what it demands. We will organize in our communities, building the educational and solidarity infrastructure necessary for long-term resistance. We will challenge the propaganda of corporate media with truth-telling and people’s journalism. We will connect Venezuela solidarity with our local struggles against capitalism, racism, and militarism. We will study the theory and history of anti-imperialism to inform our practice.
We recognize that this is a generational struggle, not a brief campaign. The forces arrayed against Venezuela—the U.S. military-industrial complex, transnational corporations, compliant media, and right-wing movements—are powerful and entrenched. Defeating them requires patience, discipline, strategic intelligence, and unwavering commitment to our principles. But we also know that empires fall, that justice ultimately prevails, that the arc of history bends toward liberation when we bend it through organized struggle.
Maduro’s defiant stand in that Manhattan courtroom is our stand. His chains are our chains. His fight is our fight. We are all Venezuela now. The world is watching, history is being written, and we choose to stand on the side of the oppressed against the oppressors, with the exploited against the exploiters, with the colonized against the colonizers. This is the essence of socialist internationalism, and this is the tradition we uphold.
¡Hasta la victoria siempre! The struggle continues until victory is won.
