As part of his escalating campaign against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” on Venezuelan “sanctioned oil tankers” in a Truth Social post this evening. “For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump wrote, “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
This declaration comes on the heels of increasing military deployment and aggression against Venezuela, culminating in a crisis that threatens the lives and livelihoods of the Venezuelan people. In recent months, the U.S. military presence surrounding the country has intensified. Since September, the Trump administration has attacked over 20 alleged “drug boats” and killed over 90 people. Over the last two weeks, Trump announced an air blockade, and U.S. forces seized an oil tanker, reinforcing the reality that this military strategy is a blatant regime change operation, aiming to topple the Maduro government and install a puppet regime for U.S. imperialist interests.
Trump’s only intention in “combatting” drug-trafficking is to wield it as a weapon to undermine any political regime that it sees as its adversary, and replace it with a regime that aligns with Washington’s interests. Indeed, the hypocrisy is glaring, especially as Trump has supported political leaders linked to drug trafficking, including granting a pardon to Honduras’s ex-President, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was held in prison for smuggling 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
This blockade and continued military escalation is only going to impoverish and hurt the Venezuelan working class, who face not only an acute economic and social crisis due to imperialist sanctions and increasing military attacks, but also repression by the Maduro government. Oil-related products account for nearly all of Venezuela’s export revenues which, in turn, is used to import necessities, like food. By tightening the blockade on oil tankers, the U.S. will only exacerbate the economic hardships inflicted by years of sanctions by the United States and Europe that have already compounded widespread shortages of food, medicine, and basic goods in the country.
Moreover, Trump’s military strategy operates in concert with right-wing factions within Venezuela that seek to subordinate the nation to U.S. imperial interests. Indeed, despite her claims to wanting “liberate” the country from the Maduro regime, opposition leader (and, now, Nobel Peace Prize winner) Maria Corina Machado gave full support to Trump’s plans despite its consequences for the Venezuelan masses. The collaboration between the U.S. regime and the Venezuelan opposition is evident: both sides share a vision of regime change that subordinates the dignity and autonomy of the Venezuelan people to U.S. imperialist interests.
We cannot afford to stand by as the Trump administration engages in imperialist adventures that inflict suffering on millions. From the heart of U.S. imperialism, the working class and all those who despise its bloody domination and oppression of our siblings across the world must mobilize to put an end to U.S. aggression and interference in Venezuela and Latin America. The working class in Venezuela must be free to fight for its own interests, free from the boot of U.S. imperialism.
The post Trump’s Escalation Against Venezuela Demands Working-Class Resistance appeared first on Left Voice.
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