“At 2am, local time, on 3rd January 2026 the United States attacked several sites in and around Caracas and adjoining states such as Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, including military bases and civilian areas. This attack is a violation of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter,” said No Cold War in a statement. “The United States has made it clear that this war, which it has imposed on Venezuela, is about oil and nothing other than oil.”

Trump has indeed largely admitted the motive. Mehdi Hasan pointed out: “In his 2019 memoir The Threat, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe quotes first-term Trump saying Venezuela was ‘the country we should be going to war with, they have all that oil and they’re right on our back door’.”

The US Government claims it has captured President Maduro and flown him and his wife out of the country. President Trump says the US will bring Maduro to justice on American soil for arms and drug offences.  

The US has been ramping up attacks on Venezuela increasingly over recent months. Over 100 people have been killed by US strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, which the US claims, with little evidence, were transporting illegal drugs. In recent months, the US sent 12 military warships to Caribbean waters near Venezuela, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier, a submarine and four amphibious vessels for landing troops.

But the direct attack on Caracas itself – and the kidnapping of a sitting President – shocked many for its unprecedented and unprovoked nature.

Not everybody was surprised, however. One analyst predicted it, noting: “Sensing an approaching war, investors have been snapping up the country’s defaulted debt, gambling that the collapse of Maduro’s regime will unlock the once improbable prospect of repayment.”

Reports of casualties are sketchy at this stage, but it should be noted that three million people live in Caracas, one of the densest cities in South America. The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, reported that “innocent victims have been mortally wounded and others killed by this criminal terrorist attack.”

Widespread condemnation

The Venezuelan Government condemned the attack as “criminal” and “colonial”. President of Colombia Gutavo Petrosaid troops are being deployed to the Venezuela border and called on the Organization of American States and the UN to “meet immediately.”  Chilean President Gabriel Boric also condemned the attack, as did Mexico. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said his country “denounces and urgently demands the reaction of the international community against the criminal attack by the US on Venezuela.”

Brazil’s President Lula said: “The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president have crossed an unacceptable line. These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.”

The British Government has not condemned the attack. Keir Starmer said Britain was not involved but he wants to talk to Trump to “establish facts”. He also said: “I always say and believe we should all uphold international law.”

On the UK left, there was full-throated condemnation of the US aggression. Momentum’s co-chairs issued a statement, saying: “Trump’s attack on Venezuela – and the capture of President Maduro – following years of crippling sanctions, coup attempts, and a blockade is a bloodthirst criminal act. Without even a fig leaf of legality, it emboldens all would-be aggressors. The UK government must condemn this brutal regime change attempt. Solidarity with the people of Venezuela.”

Campaign Group MPs also added their voices. “Donald Trump’s bombing of Venezuela is an illegal attack on a sovereign nation,” said Nadia Whittome. “It is a blatant grab for Venezuelan oil, risking the lives of innocent civilians. All of us who care about international law must condemn this.”

“If this is accurate, with no legal sanction, with no UN decision, what difference in international law is there between Trump’s attack on Venezuela and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine?” asked former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP. “If the UK government stands for the rule of law, Keir Starmer must condemn this.” Diane Abbott MP called the bombing “completely unacceptable.”

Brian Leishman MP tweeted: “Invading another country for oil, capturing another nations leader and removing them from their position. Pure imperialism. Anyone that thought Trump was genuine about ending US involvement in ‘forever wars’ was a complete fool.”

Apsana Begum MP agreed: “His military’s bombing of Caracas is an act of US imperialism and illegal under international law. I condemn it and extend my solidarity to the people of Venezuela.”

Kim Johnson MP added: “This shameless attack is about seizing Venezuela’s resources. We must always defend international law.”

Richard Burgon MP said: “Donald Trump has launched a US war on Venezuela, with the US military bombing the capital Caracas. I totally condemn this illegal attack on a sovereign nation. As with the war on Iraq, Trump’s regime change is about control of Venezuela’s oil – the largest reserves in the world.”

“Trump’s attack, which was conducted without the approval of Congress, or America’s allies, also has big ramifications for the UK,” pointed out Zeteo. “Before his return to the White House, Trump’s British cheerleader Boris Johnson predicted that he would make the world ‘safer and more stable’ while Nigel Farage insisted Trump would be a ‘global peacemaker’ who would prevent America from engaging in an ‘endless series of foreign wars’. It’s now clear that the opposite is the case.”

Ukraine’s Social Movement issued a powerful statement about the attack, saying: “As before – from the bombing of small vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans to the sanctions blockade – it is a demonstration of the strength and full readiness of the United States to use violence without trial, investigation and any respect for international law. Pretexts such as the fight against drug trafficking and cartels are used to legitimize aggression…”

“The excuses about fighting what are supposedly ‘drug cartels’ are particularly cynical given Trump’s recent amnesty from a US prison of the right-wing former president of Honduras, Hernandez – he was sentenced to a huge term for cocaine trafficking, but was released to help his allies in the last election. As with the ‘fight against terrorism’, the real goal is not protection, but control over oil and mineral resources and the establishment of a regime loyal to Washington.

At the same time, it is necessary to clearly call things by their rightful names: the regime of Nicolas Maduro is authoritarian, repressive and deeply corrupt. It has nothing to do with socialist democracy, hiding behind the legacy of Hugo Chavez and Bolivarian rhetoric. Together with the destructive US sanctions, it is the policies of the Maduro government that are responsible for the economic collapse, social catastrophe, extrajudicial killings, malnutrition and mass emigration of millions of Venezuelans. The Maduro elite has nullified the gains of mass movements and social programs of the Chavez era, instead only discrediting the leftist idea in the region. Parasitizing on the population, the regime is maintained thanks to the security forces, restrictions on freedoms and external support – primarily from Russia.

“However, it is a grave mistake to equate the Maduro regime with Venezuelan society…

“The isolation of the progressive government in Colombia and the threats to a similar government in Mexico, the strengthening of the alliance with the far-right regime in Argentina at the expense of American taxpayers, the support of neo-fascist revanchists in Brazil led by Jair Bolsonaro, the use of the infamous mega-prison of the repressive Bukele government in El Salvador to hold deportees from the United States – all these are parts of a single strategy to restore Washington’s hegemony in Latin America.”

And beyond. As the Guardian’s George Monbiot pointed out, “the seizure and kidnapping of a head of state takes us to a very dark place. Vast, arbitrary, extra-legal power, which could be exercised almost anywhere, regardless of the character of the target government.”

At the same time, Trump’s contempt for international law sends a message to Russia and other dictatorships that anything goes. It helps to legitimise their aggression and abuses, now and in the future. Owen Jones agreed, saying you can see why Trump “is so sympathetic to Russian claims in Ukraine. He wants the same for the US in Latin America.”

The Progressive International, which includes Jeremy Corbyn MP in its leadership, issued a statement calling on “political parties, trade unions, social movements, and civil society organizations across the world to act with urgency and determination. We urge — and commit to collaborate with all efforts to develop — coordinated actions, worker strikes, and assemblies that promise to halt these acts of wanton aggression.”

Labour CND is calling on people to contact their MP. The Stop the War Coalition has called a protest for Monday January 5^th at 6pm in Downing Street.

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_map_of_Venezuela_%28%2B_Guayana_Esequiba%29.svg Author: Janitoalevic, made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.