On January 3 itself, the day the US military forces invaded Venezuela and abducted its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the rebellious Venezuelan people flooded the streets. They denounced the attack against their sovereignty and demanded the immediate return of their president and first combatant.
“This attack aims no other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly oil and minerals, in an attempt to destroy the country’s political independence. They will not succeed,” the Venezuelan government said in its first official statement after the aggression. It firmly rejected and condemned the military aggression that targeted the country’s territory and various civilian and military facilities. The attack reportedly killed more than 80 Venezuelans.
Hours after the abduction, Donald Trump arrogantly declared that the US would now “run” Venezuela, including its vast oil resources. Oil-hungry and resource-greedy countries in the European Union, as well as Japan, Australia, and other US puppet states fully supported the removal of Maduro. They immediately called for a “peaceful transition” to install a puppet state that would open Venezuela for large oil companies to plunder. This was also supported by social-democratic groups that pretended to oppose aggression but joined the chorus in justifying Maduro’s abduction.
The Communist Party of the Philippines condemned the US imperialist military aggression in Venezuela. It called Trump a “fascist madman” for ordering the Venezuelan invasion. According to the Party, this would surely ignite the Venezuelan people’s patriotic outrage.
Unyielding resolve
Venezuelans cry “¡Maduro, aguanta, que el pueblo se levanta!” (Maduro, hold fast, the people are rising!) in the streets. Hundreds of thousands poured into Caracas and other parts of the country to express their support and convey their love for Maduro and Flores, calling the latter the nation’s “first combatant.” They burned US flags.
“May the extremists understand that the bombs they asked for (from the US) killed and will kill all Venezuelans, Chavista or not,” a protester said. The “extremists” he referred to were parties funded by the US and led by its figurehead Maria Machado. Machado had long called for a US invasion of Venezuela to overthrow the Maduro government and install herself and her collaborators in power. Nevertheless, Trump did not place her in office. Machado’s fellow citizens deeply abhor her.
On January 4, Venezuela vice president Delcy Rodriguez took her oath as interim president, in accordance with the country’s constitution. The armed forces also mobilized the extensive militia they had built to defend the motherland.
International support
The US aggression and the abduction of Maduro and Flores drew swift and vehement condemnation across Latin America, Africa, and other countries. Cuba, Nicaragua, and Colombia immediately stood up for Maduro and Venezuela. Brazil, Uruguay, and Mexico strongly opposed the invasion. They viewed the aggression as an attack not only on Venezuela but on the entire Latin America and the countries resisting US imperialist hegemony. In these countries, people poured into the streets to express their solidarity with the Venezuelans.
Simultaneous rallies were held in front of US embassies in Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Greece, and Turkey. In the US, Americans denounced their own government’s aggression through protests outside the White House, in New York (where Maduro was taken), and in several other cities.
In the Philippines, progressive groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and the Philippine- Bolivarian Venezuela Friendship Association marched to the US embassy in Manila on January 5. They condemned the US aggression and expressed their support for the Venezuelan people and their government.
