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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">\u201cWe Deserve Respect\u201d: The Bolivarian
Revolution, Imperial Aggression on Venezuela, and the Struggle for a
Peaceful, Sovereign Global South</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Essam Elkorghli</div>
<div class="gmail-meta-data">
<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">December 19, 2025</div>
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<hr>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><img src="cid:ii_mjd3k6vk0" alt="image.png" width="430" height="287"><br><p><font size="1">New. Soldiers carrying flags embossed with the eyes of Hugo Chávez, the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. </font></p><p>An
analysis of geopolitical violence against Venezuela, the imperial
actors driving it, and solidaric resistance rooted in the Bolivarian
Revolution.</p><div><p><span lang="EN">Ojalá, o como dicen los hermanos árabes, ojalá, </span><em><span lang="EN">in sha Allah</span></em><span lang="EN">, </span><em><span lang="EN">Salam Alaikum</span></em><span lang="EN">, ojalá, que algún día, el pueblo del estados unidos tenga un gobierno con el que se pueda conversar. Ojalá, algún día pronto, </span><span lang="EN">más</span><span lang="EN"> pronto que tarde, ese país tenga un gobierno que respete los pueblos y los gobiernos de </span><span lang="EN">América</span><span lang="EN"> Latina. No le pedimos mas nada. Que nos respeten porque nosotros merecemos respeto. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">[</span><em><span lang="EN">Hopefully, or as our Arab
brothers say, hopefully, inshallah, Salam Alaikum, hopefully one day,
the people of the United States will have a government that one can talk
to. Hopefully, one day soon, sooner rather than later, that country
will have a government that respects the peoples and governments of
Latin America. We ask for nothing more. That they respect us because we
deserve respect.</span></em><span lang="EN">]</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">\u2014 Commander Hugo Chavez in 2008 following a coup attempt</span><a name="_ednref1" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[i]</sup></span></a></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN">
government\u2019s long-standing campaign to isolate and vilify Venezuela\u2014most
recently through its designation of the country as a \u201cforeign terrorist
organization\u201d\u2014is not merely an attack on the government of Nicolás
Maduro. It is an assault on the Bolivarian revolution itself, and on the
right of sovereign nations to determine their own path.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">This tension is not new. In 2008, following a coup
attempt, Commander Hugo Chavez expressed a hope shared by many across
the Global South. Addressing the masses of Venezuela, he famously </span><span lang="EN">demanded respect from the US.</span><span lang="EN">
These calls for respect were not confined to US meddling in the
internal affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at the time,
but it is a string of imperialist design that aims to supplant the path
forged by the Venezuelan masses. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The recent escalation of accusations\u2014branding
Venezuela as corrupt, authoritarian, anti-democratic, rentier, and most
recently a narco-terrorist state\u2014is merely the latest tactic in a
decades-long campaign. Its true objective is not the country itself, but
the example it sets: the political, economic, and social model of the
Bolivarian Revolution, started by Hugo Chavez in 1999, and its resonance
across Latin America and the Global South. The ultimate goal is to
undermine the principle of sovereign self-determination, punishing any
nation that dares to forge an independent path.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">As Michael Parenti observed, the fundamental
"mistake" of such vilified nations is that they provide for their
people, thereby depriving imperial powers of the ability to usurp
profits at the people's expense.</span><a name="_ednref2" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[ii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> This is the cardinal sin of the Bolivarian Revolution. Now, at a critical multipolar juncture marked by diminishing </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN">
hegemony and the growing influence of China and other anti-imperialist
states in the hemisphere, the empire's response has grown increasingly
desperate. Its erratic and barbaric drive toward militarization serves a
final, fragile goal: to stabilize its waning influence in the Western
Hemisphere.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><strong>A Socialist Bolivarian Revolution with Pan-African and Plurinational Characteristics</strong></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">When Hugo Chávez proclaimed the Bolivarian
Revolution's commitment to socialism in the late 1990s and early 2000s,
he did so at a time when history was supposedly over. The Berlin Wall
had fallen, the Soviet Union had dissolved, and Francis Fukuyama's \u201cend
of history\u201d thesis dominated Western intellectual discourse. Capitalism
had won; we were told. Socialism was dead. Yet Chávez, defying this
narrative, showed the world that socialism was not remotely dead\u2014merely
dormant, waiting for its moment of resurgence. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">A careful examination of the policies implemented
under Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution reveals several notable
structural changes. Economically, the state assumed control of key
industries and financial institutions. In agriculture, a land reform
program redistributed millions of hectares to peasant farmers, while
other initiatives aimed to increase domestic food production.
Politically, a new constitution established a framework for
participatory democracy. This system supplemented electoral
representation with direct community involvement through local communal
councils, intending to decentralize political power beyond traditional
institutions. These reforms were designed to broaden popular engagement
in governance and formally enshrine the rights of women and Indigenous
peoples.</span><a name="_ednref3" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[iii]</sup></span></a></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Cuba and Venezuela launched ALBA. The Bolivarian
Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) was never merely a
trading bloc\u2014it was a deliberate counter-hegemonic revolution against
the Monroe Doctrine's long shadow. Founded in 2004 by Venezuela and
Cuba, ALBA proposed a unique model of integration based on solidarity
rather than surplus extraction. Unlike US-dominated free trade
agreements that demanded market surrender, ALBA operated on principles
of non-reciprocal exchange: poorer members received oil and investment
without matching returns, while wealthier members contributed according
to capacity. The Sucre currency, launched in 2009, allowed member states
to trade without the dollar, insulating them from Washington's
financial weaponry. Petrocaribe, embedded within ALBA, delivered oil to
Caribbean nations on concessional terms\u2014often with 25-year financing at
1% interest\u2014funding everything from Jamaican hospitals to Dominican
schools. But ALBA's revolution was also social: it financed literacy
missions that made Bolivia illiteracy-free, funded Operation Miracle
that restored vision to millions across the Caribbean basin, and created
the International School of Medicine in Havana that trained doctors
from across the region.</span><a name="_ednref4" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[iv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
This was Chávez's specific brand of revolution\u2014anti-imperialist
socialism that recognized Caribbean and South American liberation as
interdependent, creating not a federation of states but a network of
survival outside the empire's chokehold.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Deriving its political consciousness from the weight of Simon Bolivar, the Bolivarian revolution\u2019s </span><span lang="EN">anti-racist and internationalist</span><span lang="EN">
character is rooted in a profound historical connection often erased
from Western narratives. Simón Bolívar, the liberator of South America,
found himself defeated and exiled in 1815, his dreams of continental
liberation seemingly shattered. It was Haiti, the first free Black
republic in the Americas, that saved both Bolívar and the liberation
project. Haiti provided Bolívar with weapons, ships, and soldiers on one
condition: that he abolish slavery in all liberated territories. This
historical alliance between the Haitian Revolution and the South
American independence struggle represents one of the most powerful
examples of intercontinental solidarity in human history.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The modern Bolivarian Revolution has resurrected this
sacred alliance, transforming it from historical memory into
contemporary practice. Venezuela's declaration of May 10th as
Afro-Venezuelan Day every year stands as a testament to this
resurrection. This observance is not merely symbolic\u2014it represents the
revolution's recognition that the liberation of Venezuela's
African-descended population is inseparable from the broader socialist
project. Just as Haiti demanded the abolition of slavery as the
condition for liberation, the Bolivarian Revolution recognizes that true
sovereignty requires the complete liberation of its Afro-Venezuelan
masses. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Going beyond methodological nationalism where a
revolution is to be confined to the nation and absent of the
internationalist dimension, the Bolivarian Revolution extended its
support to the African continent by </span><span lang="EN">forging a profound</span><span lang="EN">
alliance with Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, rewarding Qaddafi with the Simon
Bolivar award for championing continental liberation, as Venezuela also
hosted the Africa-South America summit in 200</span><span lang="EN">9</span><span lang="EN">. Chavez famously stated:</span></p>
<p><em><span lang="EN">Africa should never again allow countries to come
from across the seas to impose certain political, economic, and social
systems. Africa should be of the Africans, and only by way of unity will
Africa be free and great.</span></em><a name="_ednref5" title=""><em><span lang="EN"><strong><sup>[v]</sup></strong></span></em></a><em><span lang="EN"> </span></em></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Understanding the impending imperialist wars on the
Global South, the Africa-South America summit announced the plans for
the creation of a </span><span lang="EN">S</span><span lang="EN">outhern equivalent to NATO, namely the South Atlantic Treaty Organization, to be launched by 2011.</span><a name="_ednref6" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[vi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> This was undermined by NATO, which launched a catastrophic bombing campaign on Libya in 2011, thus supp</span><span lang="EN">ressing</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">this</span><span lang="EN"> geopolitical development. Further Venezuela</span><span lang="EN">n </span><span lang="EN">support for Africa was evident </span><span lang="EN">by its </span><span lang="EN">attendance at </span><span lang="EN">the 2024 summit of </span><span lang="EN">the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">in Niger. And most signif</span><span lang="EN">icantly, in its </span><span lang="EN">sustaining of Cuba, one of Africa's greatest allies. Venezuela\u2019s lifeline to Cuba</span><span lang="EN"> (which has been </span><span lang="EN">blockaded for 60 years) </span><span lang="EN">represents</span><span lang="EN">
indirect solidarity with Africa. Cuba has provided more assistance to
Africa than any nation\u2014medical brigades, educators, soldiers who fought
apartheid in Angola, and education for thousands of African students.
Supporting Venezuela, which supports Cuba, means supporting Africa's
most consistent champion. As much as the empire attempts to weaken the
link between Venezuela and Cuba, Pan-Africanists should understand that
any attack on Venezuela is an attack on Cuba, its revolution, and the
massive contributions to humanity, especially in Africa.</span><a name="_ednref7" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[vii]</sup></span></a></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><strong>Maximum Pressure: Sanctions, Fascism, and Imperialist Aggression</strong></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">As we witness the unfolding attacks </span><span lang="EN">by the US in</span><span lang="EN"> the Caribbean</span><span lang="EN">, which</span><span lang="EN">
have killed 99 civilians as of the time of writing, these attacks and
blockade on Venezuela did not just start under Trump\u2019s regime. </span><span lang="EN">They
have been instigated ever since the Bolivarian revolutionary process
began. And this war is not a Trumpian thing, but rather a bipartisan war
on Venezuela\u2019s revolution that was exacerbated by Barack Obama. </span></p>
<p><em><span lang="EN">A Crime Against Humanity: Sanctions and Coercive Economic Measures</span></em></p>
<p><span lang="EN">In 2015, the Obama White House released an </span><span lang="EN">E</span><span lang="EN">xecutive </span><span lang="EN">O</span><span lang="EN">rder</span><a name="_ednref8" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[viii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
declaring Venezuela an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the United States." This
declaration laid the groundwork for a campaign of economic warfare
unprecedented in its scope and cruelty. The United Nations Human Rights
Rapporteur found that by 2020 more than 100,000 Venezuelans have been
killed by US-led sanctions (in 2018</span><span lang="EN"> alone, </span><span lang="EN">40,000
were killed by the sanctions). The sanctions don\u2019t just target the
leadership of the country, but the state\u2019s ability to finance and
provide social services to the masses. Ultimately, the sanctions
targeted the access to medicine, where many of the deaths could have
been avoided had there been no sanctions.</span><a name="_ednref9" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[ix]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The sanctions also strangled the oil industry. Due to
the historical developments of the country, Venezuela\u2019s oil
infrastructure was built by American engineers and equipment, leaving
the country dependent on the technology of the US. The former leaders of
Venezuela did not question such dependency because of their proximate
relationship with the empire. However, after the Bolivarian revolution
took place and the sanctions were in place, the country\u2019s ability to
extract, store, and refine oil has been undermined due to that historic
dependency. This has created a necessary alliance between Iran, China
and Venezuela, where </span><span lang="EN">Iran</span><span lang="EN"> aids in the oil-for-condensate swaps, </span><span lang="EN">and Chinareplacing </span><span lang="EN">the US as Venezuela\u2019s biggest oil consumer.</span><a name="_ednref10" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[x]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> This shows how prolonged sanctions can create new commercial </span><span lang="EN">opportunities</span><span lang="EN">, turning abundance of sanctioned goods into a survival tool and economic surplus.</span><a name="_ednref11" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p><em><span lang="EN">Fascism, </span><span lang="EN">Right-Wing E</span><span lang="EN">xtremism</span><span lang="EN"> and Endless Coups </span></em></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The right-wing opposition leader, María Corina
Machado, recently fled Venezuela on a boat. As she arrived in Curaçao, a
Dutch colony, she travelled on a private jet to the US and then to Oslo
(Norway) to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Machado, who is a
supporter of the barbaric strikes on the boats in the Caribbean, was
smuggled thanks to US veteran\u2019s Florida-based Grey Bull Rescue
Foundation.</span><a name="_ednref12" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> During her journey, she hoped that her own boat </span><span lang="EN">would</span><span lang="EN"> not get targeted by the US forces in the Caribbean. Prior to her </span><span lang="EN">journey</span><span lang="EN">
to Oslo, at the America Business Forum, she reiterated many of the
talking points of her predecessors, like Guaidó, that Venezuela is being
ruled by thugs and that if she is instated, she would: </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">\u201cWe will open Venezuela for foreign investment; a
$1.7 trillion opportunity, not only in oil and gas\u2026 but also in mining,
in gold, in infrastructure, power. \u2026 Tourism Venezuela has 2800km of
pristine Caribbean coastline ready to be developed\u2026 We will bring rule
of law. We will open markets. We will have security for foreign
investment, and a transparent, massive privatization program that is
waiting for you.\u201d She also joined Donald Trump </span><span lang="EN">Jr.'s podcast</span><span lang="EN">, </span><em><span lang="EN">Triggered</span></em><span lang="EN">, where she said, \u201cWe are going to privatize all our industry\u201d, stressing that US companies \u201care going to make a lot of money\u201d.</span><a name="_ednref13" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xiii]</sup></span></a></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Notwithstanding her paradoxical Orwellian twist of
being awarded Nobel Peace Prize while blessing the airstrikes on
civilians (in some cases, survivors were also bombed), Wikileaks filed a
lawsuit</span><a name="_ednref14" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xiv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
against the Nobel Foundation for awarding Machado the award, since it
contradicts the prize\u2019s diktats and that Machado saw the encirclement of
Venezuela and the bombing campaign as an \u201cAct of love\u201d.</span><a name="_ednref15" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> She also is a supporter of international Zionism and spoke in favor of Netanyahu and the genocide in Palestine.</span><a name="_ednref16" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xvi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> But what kind of Venezuelans support such barbarism camouflaged in the figure of Machado?</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Since the earlier coup attempts, right-wing factions
in Venezuela have been funded by the US. While the Organization of
American States has been at the forefront of delegitimizing any
electoral process in the country without providing any evidence of
electoral errors, the electoral process in the country has been mired
with constant foreign intervention.</span><a name="_ednref17" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xvii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> The election cycle often followed with racial violence and criminal activities against state authorities.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">As in the United States, Venezuela's history is rooted in the enslavement of Africans and the genocide of </span><span lang="EN">I</span><span lang="EN">ndigenous
peoples. The ramifications of these historical crimes persist today,
with a light-skinned elite inhabiting upper-middle-class areas while
darker-skinned Venezuelans live in poor neighborhoods throughout the
country. This racial hierarchy is central to understanding the
opposition's violence. Supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution, given
the contributions of the revolution to the Afro-Venezuelan population,
many of the supporters are also Black. They are routinely depicted in
opposition media and discourse as uncivilized, uneducated, and
inherently violent, with more racist ones portraying them as monkeys,
violent, docile and farewell exploiters.</span><a name="_ednref18" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xviii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Just like in Libya in 2011, with the public lynching
of Hesham Alshushan after being tortured alive, while mainstream media
claimed that he was an \u201cAfrican mercenary\u201d,</span><a name="_ednref19" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xix]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> anti-Black violence erupts in Venezuela\u2019s major </span><span lang="EN">right-wing</span><span lang="EN"> hubs, namely rich neighborhoods inhabited by light-skinned Venezuelans. The case of Orlando Figuer</span><span lang="EN">a</span><span lang="EN"> is much like Alshushan. During the 2017 electoral violence, opposition forces erected what is called Guarimbas</span><a name="_ednref20" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xx]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
\u2014 barricades and roadblocks. They also strung barbed wire so
motorcyclists would get beheaded. When Figuera was in the vicinity of
these roadblocks, he was stabbed six times by opposition fascists. The
mobs then threw gasoline and set him on fire. Figuera suffered first and
second-degree burns on 54 per cent of his body. His crime </span><span lang="EN">was</span><span lang="EN"> being Black and a supporter of the Bolivarian revolution.</span><a name="_ednref21" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
In the recent 2024 elections, similar electoral violence took place,
targeting particularly women (Cirila Isabel Gil and Mayauris Silva
Vielma) who were brutally assassinated for their grassroots organizing
in support of the Bolivarian revolution.</span><a name="_ednref22" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> Yet, this is the opposition that the USAID (United Stated Agency for International Development</span><span lang="EN">)</span><span lang="EN"> and National Endowment for Democracy (now under the auspices of the US State Department) have been funding.</span><a name="_ednref23" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxiii]</sup></span></a></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><strong>Neighborly Reactionaries and the US\u2019s Narcos</strong></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">While the US boasts about its unabashed ability to
perform the barbaric killings in the Caribbean, it only does so thanks
to the succumbing reactionary neighbors of Venezuela</span><span lang="EN">, notably the</span><span lang="EN">
colonized island of Puerto Rico and the neocolonial leaders of Trinidad
& Tobago (T&T) heeding national sovereignty to the US\u2019s larger
objectives of encircling Venezuela</span><span lang="EN">. </span><span lang="EN"> T & T declar</span><span lang="EN">ed</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">on the 15th of December that </span><span lang="EN">it will allow the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> military to use its airports for logistical activities in the coming weeks.</span><a name="_ednref24" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxiv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">Clearly</span><span lang="EN">,
T&T is collaborating with the US in transforming the Caribbean from
a Zone of Peace to a hub of imperialist belligerence, by buying in and
regurgi</span><span lang="EN">tating</span><span lang="EN"> the talking
points of the empire. T&T\u2019s Prime Minister, Persad-Bissessar stated,
\u201cI clearly said that the new radar system assists with the detection of
Venezuelan crude oil sanction-busting activities and traffickers who
have been conducting deliveries of narcotics, firearms, ammunition and
migrants into our country from Venezuela\u201d.</span><a name="_ednref25" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">For some years, Latin America has enjoyed what\u2019s been
termed the Pink Tide, where leftist governments were consecutively
being elected and potentially forging continental unity. However, the
reactionary right has been gaining strides in recent years. From the
election of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, who is transforming his state
into a crypto dystopia and massive carceral system, to the election of
the anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei in Argentina, and most recently José
Antonio Kast\u2019s triumph (a Pinochetist) in Chile\u2019s elections.</span><a name="_ednref26" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxvi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
These seismic changes are pro-market, pro-US-led imperialism, and with
the expansion of their strongholds, they will be crucial in
proliferating the US\u2019 larger objectives of fighting socialism and
anti-imperialism in South America.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Take the case of th</span><span lang="EN">e justification of the </span><span lang="EN">current</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">escalation
of violence in the Caribbean basin. We are told that Venezuela is
largely responsible for the narcotics entering the US, especially
Fentanyl,</span><span lang="EN"> which has been </span><span lang="EN">declared by the Trump regime as a Weapon of Mass Destruction.</span><a name="_ednref27" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxvii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
However, if one reads behind the fog of headlines, US intelligence \u201chas
assessed that little to none of the fentanyl trafficked to the United
States is being produced in Venezuela\u201d, which is also backed by Senator
Rand Paul, who similarly noted that \u201czero fentanyl is produced in
Venezuela.\u201d</span><a name="_ednref28" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxviii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">Meanw</span><span lang="EN">hile, just recently, the </span><em><span lang="EN">Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project</span></em><span lang="EN"> has published</span><a name="_ednref29" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxix]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> that one of the US\u2019s allies </span><span lang="EN">in</span><span lang="EN">
South America is actually the one that smuggles narcotics, not only to
the US but also to the Balkans. The US-backed Ecuadorian president,
Daniel Noboa, who runs the banana business in the country under the
Noboa Trading Co., was implicated in major cocaine shipments from
Ecuador to another US ally, Panama, which then transferred it to
Croatia\u2019s ports (535 kg, street value of 26 million Euros). But given
the hypocrisy of the US, Noboa\u2019s complicity is completely ignored. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Ultimately, the US </span><span lang="EN">is likely to</span><span lang="EN">
back Noboa, just like it did recently with the former right-wing
narco-dictator Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernández. Hernández was
extradited to the US in 2022 and eventually sentenced to 45 years in
prison. But the US President Donald Trump gave \u201cfull and complete
pardon\u201d to Hernández, \u201cwho has been, according to many people that I
greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly\u201d.</span><a name="_ednref30" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxx]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
The irony is that convicted right-wing narco dictators are pardoned,
while innocent Venezuelans and Caribbean people are punished by drawn up
claims of their narco-terrorism. </span><span lang="EN">Arguably, t</span><span lang="EN">he "war on drugs" serves as a pretext for </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">military </span><span lang="EN">presence
and intervention throughout the region, while actual drug traffickers
operate with impunity in countries aligned with Washington.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><strong>Conclusion: Warmongering of the Mainstream Media vs </strong></span><span lang="EN"><strong>Peace of the Masses</strong></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">One should not neglect the role of mainstream media,
both centrist and right wing, in legitimizing the geopolitical violence
being unleashed on the Caribbean people. The former furtively wants a
regime change, while the latter voyeuristically enjoys the streamed
violence unleashed on civilians in the Caribbean Sea. Outlets like </span><em><span lang="EN">New York Times </span></em><span lang="EN">and </span><em><span lang="EN">CNN</span></em><span lang="EN">
constantly criticize Donald Trump just because he represents the
erratic opposition, but they share with him the larger objectives of the
US, and that is to put their hands on the world\u2019s largest oil reserves,
and this is solely done by maximum pressure that leads to regime
change. This was also evident in the US House\u2019s vote in granting </span><span lang="EN">the Administration</span><span lang="EN"> the power to continue the attacks in the Western Hemisphere, bringing the two parties together.</span><a name="_ednref31" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxi]</sup></span></a></p>
<p><span lang="EN">As the </span><span lang="EN">US increases </span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">its</span><span lang="EN"> warmongering </span><span lang="EN">rhetoric</span><span lang="EN">, </span><span lang="EN">t</span><span lang="EN">he Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of the Department of War told attendees of the Ronald Reagan Foundation event on </span><span lang="EN">6 December</span><span lang="EN">,
\u201cWe are asking American taxpayers to fund the world's greatest
military, we're asking mothers and fathers across America to trust us
with their most precious resource, their sons and daughters, and we will
honor their trust and their sacrifice.\u201d</span><a name="_ednref32" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> But this is being met with anti-war protests.</span><a name="_ednref33" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxiii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
As the US intensified its attacks and plans to seize Venezuelan oil
tankers, mass protests erupted in 60 locations across the US demanding
th</span><span lang="EN">at the </span><span lang="EN"> voice of peace triumphs o</span><span lang="EN">ver</span><span lang="EN">
the trivialization of warmongering. These protests saw anti-war
veterans, students, elders, and people from different walks of life
protest the war on Venezuela. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">If the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> thinks that invading Venezuela will </span><span lang="EN">be easy, t</span><span lang="EN">hey should </span><span lang="EN">be aware</span><span lang="EN">
that Venezuela is not like Libya or Iraq. One aspect of the revolution
that those who don\u2019t follow the revolutionary process in </span><span lang="EN">Venezuela</span><span lang="EN">
will not understand is how the revolutionary spirit and zeitgeist is
interpellated by the masses. They benefited from the revolution, and
they aspire to defend it. The </span><span lang="EN">C</span><span lang="EN">onstitution,
in which street parliaments are seen in major and smaller cities,
uplifts the masses and makes them controllers of their own fates.
Something that Libya\u2019s popular democracy aspired to achieve, but the
political project was undermined by internal and external factors.</span><a name="_ednref34" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxiv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN">
Venezuela is different. Recently, as President Maduro insisted on
peace, his political and military leadership began preparing for war.
This began in October, with many civilian cadres graduating from the
program </span><em><span lang="EN">The Tactical Method of Revolutionary Resistance (Método Táctico de Resistencia Revolucionaria, MTRR). </span></em><span lang="EN">The training has been diffused among unions, peasants, and many others, who are all prepared for urban and guerrilla warfare. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">And as the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN">
has experienced with a people\u2019s war, be it in Vietnam or through its
support to the counter-revolutionary forces in Cuba, the renowned
historian</span><span lang="EN"> </span><span lang="EN">Vijay Prashad provided five hypothetical scenarios for the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> in Venez</span><span lang="EN">uela</span><span lang="EN">:</span></p>
<ol><li>
<p><span lang="EN">The Brother Sam Option: Unlike the imposing of a
figure like Brazil\u2019s Castelo Branco, Venezuela\u2019s army has political
education in the military academies, and people close to the leadership
are loyal (including Maduro\u2019s pilot who was bribed to kidnap Maduro to
the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN">, but the pilot refused).</span><a name="_ednref35" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxv]</sup></span></a></p>
</li><li>
<p><span lang="EN">The Panama Option: Sending special troops and installing </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN">-backed politicians. Yet, Venezuela\u2019s military</span><span lang="EN"> is</span><span lang="EN"> far stronger than Panama and the population is much larger.</span></p>
</li><li>
<p><span lang="EN">The Iraq Option: Shock and Awe is limited. The
critical flaw in this plan is the profound depth of Bolivarian
leadership. Its defense is anchored in the working-class barrios and a
military prepared for protracted struggle, ensuring it would not crumble
as Iraq's did.</span></p>
</li><li>
<p><span lang="EN">The Gulf of Tonkin: The Venezuelan authorities are
aware of false flag operations and warned that they will not fall prey
to provocations.</span></p>
</li><li>
<p><span lang="EN">The Qasem Suleimani Option: Assassination like how </span><span lang="EN">the US</span><span lang="EN">
killed Qasem Suleimani (Iran\u2019s head of Quds Force) is shortsighted. The
Bolivarian revolution continues despite the death of Hugo Chavez
thirteen years ago.</span><a name="_ednref36" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxvi]</sup></span></a></p>
</li></ol>
<p><span lang="EN">While the masses in the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> and Venezuela hope that none of these scenarios unfold, progressive and </span><span lang="EN">peace-loving </span><span lang="EN">organizations in the reactionary neighbor</span><span lang="EN">ing countries</span><span lang="EN">, in Venezuela, and in the </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> must continue to </span><span lang="EN">mobilize</span><span lang="EN"> for peace. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><strong>Essam Abdelrasul Bubaker Elkorghli</strong>
is a Libyan doctoral researcher at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, researching imperialism, ideology and education with a
primary focus on Libya. He serves on the International Advisory Board
of Pambazuka News, assistant editor to the Middle East Critique Journal,
and member of the Global Pan-African Movement. He writes frequently for
the Black Agenda Report. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><strong>Endnotes</strong></span></p>
<div>
<p><a name="_edn8" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[viii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> <a href="https://o">https://o</a> <a href="http://bamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/09/fact-sheet-venezuela-executive-order">bamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/09/fact-sheet-venezuela-executive-order</a></span></p>
<p><a name="_edn11" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> Arslanian, Ferdinand. 2025. \u201cUS Sanctions and Cooperation among Targets: The Case of Cooperation between Iran and Venezuela.\u201d </span><em><span lang="EN">Middle East Critique</span></em><span lang="EN"> 34 (4): 703\u201324. doi:10.1080/19436149.2025.2520645.</span></p>
<p><a name="_edn17" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xvii]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> Vijay Prashad. 2020. </span><em><span lang="EN">Washington Bullets</span></em><span lang="EN">. Monthly Review</span></p>
<p><a name="_edn20" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xx]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> Right-wing opposition views the term as pejorative</span></p>
<p><a name="_edn21" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxi]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> Justin Podur & Joe Emersberger. 2020. </span><em><span lang="EN">Extraordinary Threat: The </span><span lang="EN">US</span><span lang="EN"> Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela. </span></em><span lang="EN">Monthly Review. </span></p>
<p><a name="_edn34" title=""><span lang="EN"><sup>[xxxiv]</sup></span></a><span lang="EN"> Matteo Capasso. 2023. </span><em><span lang="EN">Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. </span></em><span lang="EN">Syracuse University Press. </span></p>
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