In elections on December 6, the Venezuelan people took to the polls to elect parliamentary representatives. In the highly watched elections, voters were able to choose candidates from 117 parties, including more than 70 parties in opposition to President Nicolas Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) party. Overwhelmingly, Venezuelans elected representatives of the PSUV and other progressive, Chavista forces who now occupy 257 of the 277 seats in the National Assembly after being sworn in on January 5.
For the past five years, National Assembly had been dominated by right wing parties and was used as a tool the United States and Venezuelan capitalists in their violent and criminal attempts to oust the democratically elected President Maduro. The election of the new National Assembly is a testament to the Venezuelan people’s refusal to submit to U.S. imperialism and will to fight for their national independence and right to pursue the path of socialism.
The U.S. government continues its war against the workers of Venezuela with harsher sanctions designed to create hardship. Whoever wins in the presidential election, Trump or Biden, the US is expected to continue its policy of regime change to oust Venezuela’s democratically elected leader, Nicolas Maduro. In cahoots with a tiny clique of wealthy Venezuelans, the U.S. wants to steal Venezuela’s oil, and claim its national resources for U.S. corporations.
The PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela) is strategizing how to combat this wealthy clique of right wingers who hate Maduro and the PSUV for truly involving the workers in building their country to benefit the majority. This is no easy task as the United States continues to impose heavy sanctions and wage violent attacks that are aimed at strangling the country’s economy and threatening its socialist leaders.
U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo is the once owner of a military aerospace company that profited off the $1 trillion U.S. war budget that deprives the people here of critical help—especially during this period of crisis. Pompeo, speaking about his tenure as CIA Director admitted, “we lied, we cheated, we stole.” Recently, conferring with his fascistic Brazilian military counterparts, Pompeo pledged to send even more millions of tax-payer dollars to the wealthy Venezuelan traitor elites. Pompeo also called for more warships to ring the coast, threatening the Venezuelan people with death.
The United States will continue to meddle in the domestic politics of Venezuela during their elections. Because the right wing opposition is so unpopular they call for a boycott in the elections, thereby allowing the PSUV to win an overwhelming majority, afterward claiming that the election was a fraud. This was the excuse for the wealthy to allow the U.S. puppet Juan Guaido to declare himself president. His phony claim was recognized by Trump and Biden even though working class Venezuelans did not even know who he was. Failing these interventions, the U.S. could attempt a military coup. Thanks to the Venezuelan people, prior U.S. coup attempts have been unsuccessful.
The U.S. government was the hand behind the recent coup in Bolivia where another rich ruling class puppet declared herself leader. But the Bolivian masses led by the Movement for Socialism and rooted in indigenous leadership have fought back and are winning.
The persistent Monroe Doctrine policy of the U.S. that declares ownership of Latin America highlights how little respect the United States has for international democracy. Since the establishment of Chavismo in 2002, the living conditions for the working class in Venezuela have improved dramatically. The failed 2018 coup spearheaded by Trump and Venezuela’s capitalist class demonstrates that imperialists only care about seizing and hoarding profits for themselves. As workers in the south, we denounce the U.S. military and economic intervention on Venezuela and recognize the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own national destiny.
On September 7 thousands of Venezuelan workers, peasants, and students participated in the Great International Anti-imperialist March in Caracas. There it was announced that the International #NoMoreTrump Campaign had collected 13,287,742 signatures against the coercive measures, financial blockade and economic terrorism imposed by the U.S. government of Donald Trump. The working masses of Venezuelans ask for the solidarity of workers around the world to demand an end to the cruel U.S. embargo, an end to the gangster Trump regime, and an end to U.S. imperialist bullying.
The Trump administration has made no secret that they want to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Trump (with the Democrats following his lead) has thrown his support behind right-wing forces surrounding Juan Guaidó, who simply declared himself president in January. These extreme right-wingers want to overturn every gain made by the Venezuelan people. They want to make cuts to healthcare, education, and everything else that actually lifts up workers. They want to privatize Venezuela’s natural resources, including oil and gas, so that the rich can amass even more wealth. There is nothing good about anything Guaidó and his supporters plan to do.
As part of Washington’s escalation against the Venezuelan people and government, Trump signed an executive order at the beginning of August imposing what amounts to a full embargo against the country. Trump’s war-mongering National Security Advisor, John Bolton, announced the new policy at a meeting in Lima, Peru. Keep in mind that Bolton played a key role in the George W. Bush administration’s attacks on Iraq, and he has made a speaking career for himself going around the world promoting war against Iran. His policies devastated the Middle East, resulting in the deaths of millions, including thousands of U.S. soldiers who died for no reason (except to secure profits for U.S. weapons manufacturers and oil conglomerates).
Economic embargoes are war by other means. The primary victims are ordinary people, with children and the elderly being the most vulnerable and the most impacted. Economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs conducted an extensive study that came out in April 2019, concluding that U.S. government sanctions against Venezuela have already killed 40,000 people. They wrote, “the sanctions are depriving Venezuelans of life-saving medicines, medical equipment, food, and other essential imports. American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela’s economy and thereby lead to regime change.”
On August 10, thousands of Venezuelans flooded the streets of Caracas to protest the U.S. embargo. Many held signs and banners that said #NoMoreTrump! The embargo is an act of economic terrorism intended to crush every last vestige of democracy in Venezuela and to bolster the rich at the expense of the working class. As workers, we must stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and call for an end to U.S. imperialism.
President Donald Trump has called on Venezuelan soldiers to disobey orders and join coup perpetrators headed by U.S.-backed opposition leader, Juan Guaidó. If they do not do this, President Trump threatened: “You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything.”
While President Trump speaks of supporting democracy in Venezuela and Latin America, the real purpose of the U.S. assault on the Venezuelan government is to fully open the vast Venezuelan oil reserves to U.S. and other Western oil corporations as well as to destroy progressive governments in Latin America that put their own peoples’ needs above the profits of foreign corporations.
The Veterans For Peace Statement of Purpose states that, “we will work, with others both nationally and internationally:
To increase public awareness of the causes and costs of war
To restrain our governments from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.”
In this spirit, Veterans For Peace (VFP) calls on all members of the U.S. military to refuse illegal orders to intervene in Venezuela. Furthermore, VFP urges all U.S. military leaders to inform the president that they will order their units to stand down from preparations to invade Venezuela.
Illegal, immoral and irresponsible U.S. actions, including “sanctions” (economic war) have already taken a great toll on the people Venezuela. Nonetheless, the vast majority of Venezuelan people and military are standing firm against foreign intervention. Now there is a very real possibility that President Trump will order U.S. troops to intervene in Venezuela, whether through a direct invasion and occupation, or through support for irregular counter-revolutionary forces. This would likely lead to a widening war that could spread to other Latin American countries and the Caribbean, bringing increasing suffering to the peoples of Latin America and the U.S.
It is illegal under both U.S. and international law to launch a military attack against another nation unless it is clearly in self-defense, and is approved by the United Nations. There are a number of options for GI’s who do not wish to follow illegal orders. Veterans For Peace wants service-members to be fully informed as they make profound choices with possibly serious consequences. We urge GI’s facing possible deployment to contact the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force at (619) 463-2369 and/or help@militarylawhelp.com for referral to a civilian attorney to discuss your options. Many of their member lawyers are willing to do an initial pro-bono (free) consultation.
Refuse to be used in an illegal war. Follow your conscience and be on the right side of history.
U.S. Imperialists Driving to Disastrous War – Workers Say No!
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Energy Secretary Rick Perry spoke to a conference of U.S. Big Oil companies asking them to get directly involved in the failing attempt to take over Venezuela.
Perry was asked if the overthrow of Maduro would lead to the reassertion of control over Venezuela’s oil reserves— the largest on the planet— by US-based energy giants. “Absolutely, I think that is the real message, that the national companies want to see this regime out so that we can return,” he replied.
Exxon used to control Venezuela’s oil until it was nationalized. The Bolivarian revolution used oil revenue to build houses, free education, free medical care and many other programs we don’t have here in the U.S. Of course we could if our national budget was not looted by the profiteering war industries.
In his speech, Pompeo stated that the goal of U.S. foreign policy was to dominate the world politically and economically by control global oil stocks. He then went on to lay claim to energy reserves in the South China seas. China responded angrily by saying the U.S should stay out of the region. U.S warplanes capable of carrying nuclear bombs were subsequently deployed in this area.
Pompeo, Trump, Bolton, and the majority of Democrats who vote for militarism are on a crazed mission to dominate the world, threatening us all with major wars for their own profit.
After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S installed a UNOCAL (an American oil company) employee as president. And prior to invading Iraq, V.P. and former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney personally brought together a consortium of U.S. oil companies where they drew maps parceling out Iraq’s oil for themselves.
This shows the true motives of U.S. imperialism which at the same time seeks to destroy any popular movement that might bring true democracy and real gains for the people.
As of 2016, the Venezuelan government allocated 73 percent of its budget to social programs. In contrast, the U.S. spends 27 times as much on its war budget than on housing subsidies.
More than 44,000 communal councils throughout the country decide for themselves—democratically—how to spend their tax dollars.
Education is now free from daycare to university. Venezuela is fifth in the world in the percentage of the population attending university. Illiteracy has been nearly eradicated while as late as the 1990’s, it measured at about 80%.
The Gran Misión de la Vivienda (Great Housing Mission) has built over 2.5 million homes for low-income Venezuelans since 2011. In the United States, this would be equivalent to increasing low income housing by 37 million units, given the size of the population and average household.
According to a report by the United Nations in 2018—even as Venezuela was enduring harsh economic sanctions imposed by the United States—the country had a higher ranking for human development than the majority of the member states of the hostile Lima Group such as Columbia, Honduras, Guatemala, etc.
Women are guaranteed maternity leave and breastfeeding rights by law.
Article 88 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela recognizes that housework generates value and wealth, and that social security should be granted to homemakers.
Members of the National Bolivarian Militia, a reserve defense force of 1.6 million volunteers.
By Joseph Rosen
U.S. Supports Wealthy Few Who Want to Destroy Gains
Venezuelan workers, peasants, women, Afro-Venezuelans and Indigenous people are demonstrating and arming themselves to stop an attempted U.S./CIA coup. Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have poured into the streets to rally against U.S. imperialist aggression, in defense of their homeland and in support of their government. On February 27, thousands commemorated the 30th anniversary of the mass uprising called El Caracazo. Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Constituent Assembly, addressed the assembled masses: “Thirty years ago, the Venezuelan people made their voices heard by taking to the streets. They demanded freedom. They called for imperialism and neoliberalism to stop running over them. To the imperialist powers, I say: I don’t know who you’ll have to rule over Venezuela in the event that your coup succeeds because you will face Venezuelans protesting and fighting back every day in the streets.”
150 Cities Demonstrate Against U.S. Attacks on Venezuela
People across the world are taking to the streets to call for an end to the U.S. economic war on Venezuela and to defend its people’s right to determine their own national destiny. On February 23, people rallied in at least 150 cities to reject the lies and slanders of the capitalist-owned media and to oppose another disastrous war for oil profits. The cries of the millions of Iraqis and Libyans have not gone unheard; around the world, people recognize that these countries were condemned to U.S. war because their governments, like Venezuela’s, committed no crime worse than to try to use their oil wealth for their own national development.
And the world will never forget the crimes of Trump’s henchmen: National Security Advisor John Bolton’s lies have cost hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Palestine, while U.S. special envoy to Venezuela Elliot Abrams helped to arm and train the right-wing death squads responsible for the murder of thousands of Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, and Salvadoran men, women, and children.
Anti-humanitarian U.S. Government refused Venezuelan aid to New Orleans and Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Katrina and Maria.
Venezuelan workers have stepped up to the challenge posed by the anti-humanitarian U.S. sanctions by increasing their participation in the Local Production and Supply Committees which distribute government-subsidized food to about six million families every 15 days. Through this program, the Venezuelan government facilitates the distribution of about 50,000 tons of food per month. By contrast, the phony U.S. ‘humanitarian aid’ package that was the focus of the dangerous media stunt at the border amounts to only 60 tons of “food.”
As it happens, that’s nearly the size of the aid package that Bush turned away when the Venezuelan government attempted to deliver aid to New Orleanians after Katrina. The Venezuelan people understand perfectly well that the same U.S. government that is attempting to strangle them by economic blockade has no interest in relieving their suffering with supposed shipments of food. The “aid” ploy was only designed to break the territorial sovereignty of Venezuela so that U.S. and Colombian arms and military personnel could be brought in.
Venezuela Will Not Bend to U.S.
The attempted U.S./CIA coup has failed, and yet the right-wing Venezuelan opposition continue to clamor for war. More than 80% of Venezuelans oppose a U.S. military intervention regardless of their stance on the government. The fact that the would-be puppet Juan Guaido would risk the lives of thousands of his fellow Venezuelans clearly demonstrates that he’s merely a pawn of the Pentagon with no concern for his people.
The government of Maduro has the loyalty of the armed forces, which include 1.6 million Venezuelans who are trained by the government to head up citizen militias. These armed workers and peasants have an enormous stake in the defense of their country and the gains on power they’ve made in the twenty years since the beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution. Describing the Venezuelan people’s will to win, Maduro has invoked the heroic example of the Vietnamese people who fought to defeat the U.S.
A U.S. war would be extremely costly. The Venezuelan people are willing to accept the ultimate cost to defend their freedom from imperialist domination. Workers in the U.S. will also pay if Trump and his gang make war. We can’t afford another rich man’s war. For all the misery that another war would bring, we certainly have nothing to gain. But we have the world to gain when we realize that, like our sisters and brothers in Venezuela, we have the power to stand up to the gangsters who think that their tanks and their bombs entitle them to the wealth that we create.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses his supporters at a rally on January 23.
U.S. Is Trying to Seize Venezuela’s Oil
On Jan 10, Pres. Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated for a second term as President of Venezuela with three times the votes of the opposition candidate. In response to Maduro’s overwhelming democratic victory, Trump and his Wall St. coalition are ramping up the war drive against Venezuela. The US State Department have imposed sanctions, blocking Venezuela from the oil trade. U.S. sanctions against Venezuela have already cost its people $20 billion. Sanctions are an act of war whose purpose is to impoverish the people to attempt to turn them against the government. They have failed. For three days in a row, massive rallies of workers and youth in support of the Bolivarian revolution have take place. Protests against U.S. intervention have been held all around the world.
The U.S. government bribed a few officers and encouraged them to attempt a coup. They failed. The vast majority of the military are loyal to the people, refusing to become puppets for the super-rich. Now Trump is talking about “a military option.” All this is done to seize the oil and make Venezuela another country that is bled to death by foreign banks and owned by foreign capitalists.
“In our country, there’s the largest certified oil reserves in the world. Those who lead the empire in the United States want to put their hands on it as they did in Iraq and Libya. That wealth belongs to us.”
—President Nicolás Maduro
Against the will of the people, Trump & Co. handpicked their own candidate who went to George Washington University, a school known as a CIA nursery. They picked Juan Guaidó, the candidate of the rich, oil companies and a C.I.A. puppet. The U.S. attempted to get a United Nations resolution against Venezuela. They have failed. For years the CIA has underestimated the determination of the Venezuelan working class that wants justice, independence and sovereignty.
The Maduro government has not only loyalty among the military but also has the support of popular militias in working class and poor neighborhoods. Pres. Maduro grew up in a poor neighborhood. He was a bus driver and president of their union. He is a man of the people and is Mestizo/Indigenous/African.
His government built 2.5 million affordable homes and directly delivers 6 million food boxes to families every 3 weeks. Healthcare and education are free in Venezuela. Where do the funds for this come from? The Venezuelan government pays for these programs with money from their oil industry. U.S. oil corporations hate this because money is going to the people instead of into their wallets.
Trump, his advisor John Bolton, V.P. Pence, Sec. of State Pompeo, and other cronies all have ties to the oil industry, including Exxon-Mobil. The for-profit weapons industry (companies like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon) are also thirsty to cash in on Trump’s war drive.
The current attempt by the ultra-right wing to illegally seize control of the government has been cheered on by Wall St. Reuters News writes “the excitement has spread…to the trading rooms of Wall Street, where investors have driven up the prices of the country’s defaulted bonds on hopes for a new government that will be more likely to resume debt payments.” They want the government treasury to be turned over to them rather than to peoples’ needs.
U.S.-LED CHILEAN COUP LED TO A BLOODBATH OF THE PEOPLE, POVERTY AND RULE OF THE GENERALS
The US military has attacked Latin American and Caribbean countries 56 times since 1945, and once in 2002 in Venezuela. Elliot Abrams, who was appointed US special envoy to Venezuela on January 25 played a leading role in the attempted 2002 against Chavez. He also helped to arm the right-wing death squads responsible for mass murder in Nicaragua and El Salvador. The U.S. has carried out many coups against other elected governments such as Chile in 1973 and Honduras in 2014 after which dictators were installed to destroy social benefits. There is not one democratic goal in U.S. intervention, that’s just the lie to cover up their evil intentions.
January 29: Protesters at a demonstration in solidarity with the Venezuelan people, called by the New Orleans Workers Group. Photo: Mya Ebanks
STAND UP NOW WITH MADURO AND THE PEOPLE!
The Venezuelan people and working class New Orleanians have a common enemy: the ultra-rich who are suffocating communities here. The military buildup against Venezuela is at the expense of food stamps, schools, and other social programs at home. Oil companies and arms dealers are out to make profits no matter who suffers.
Republicans and Democrats Hate Any Government That Puts Workers & Poor First.
Once again, we see that the feud between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is superficial. Just like the European imperialists who criticize Trump but unite against Venezuela, these two parties of Wall Street come together to pursue imperialist intervention on behalf of the oil companies and military profiteers.
WORKERS HERE AND IN VENEZUELA HAVE COMMON NEEDS AND A COMMON ENEMY – U.S. IMPERIALISM
We workers here in the U.S. have no interest in supporting a CIA intervention in Venezuela or anywhere else, but a lot to gain when workers anywhere can liberate themselves from imperialism and the rule of the super-rich like they have done in Venezuela. Hands off Venezuela! U.S/CIA out of Latin America!
