Vol. VIII, No. 01 - January 15, 2026
On January 3, 2026, the world watched in stunned disbelief as the United States launched a full-scale military operation against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. In a direct violation of international law and Venezuela’s national sovereignty, US special forces bombed military targets in Caracas, killed scores of Venezuelan soldiers and civilians, and forcibly removed President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their country, flying them to New York to face trial in a US federal courtroom.
In its own National Security Strategy, the US openly declares its aim to reassert the Monroe Doctrine and restore US dominance over Latin America and the Caribbean. This means denying other powers access to the region’s resources and preventing governments assertive of their independence from charting their own course. Venezuela, with its vast oil reserves and refusal to submit to US dictates, stands directly in the way of this goal.
The talk of a “war on narcotics” and “concerns on human rights” are therefore all lies. The real objective is control: control over oil, over territory, over political direction, and over the region as a whole.
This aggression must also be understood in the context of intensifying inter-imperialist rivalry. The US faces growing competition, especially from China, amid long-term economic stagnation and instability in the global imperialist system. To protect its shrinking sphere of influence, Trump is tightening its grip on Latin America and the Caribbean. Any country that seeks alternative economic or political relations becomes a threat. Venezuela’s independent stance and potential political alignment that falls outside US control therefore trigger imperialist retaliation.
Despite Trump’s attempts to impose his will, Venezeula has not collapsed into a compliant client state as US imperialism initially hoped for. Following the abduction of Maduro, it was interim President Delcy Fernandez who assumed leadership, and is recognized by majority of countries worldwide.
President Maduro is correct to assert his status as a prisoner of war. He was seized through military force during an armed attack on his country and as such, it is far too great a stretch for the Trump administration to portray the US aggression against Venezuela as a mere “implementation of American laws.”
Across the region, the US has increased pressure on governments that deviate from its interests—through sanctions, election interference, threats, and coercion. This is a coordinated offensive to reassert dominance over a region it still considers its backyard. But this offensive also reveals weakness. US imperialism is rightly called a paper tiger. It has claws and teeth, it can destroy, kill, and terrorize, but it lacks the ability to solve the very crises it creates. It cannot stop the people from resisting.
In the US, the anti-war movement is gaining strength. Large numbers of Americans and immigrants reject endless wars and foreign interventions that serve only the interests of corporations and the ruling elite. Workers, oppressed communities, youth, and anti-war activists increasingly see that imperialism abroad means exploitation and repression at home. This growing pushback is further fueled by Trump’s reckless statements floating possible invasions of Greenland and Cuba, revealing a pattern of unhinged and naked violence. These threats deepen fears that the US ruling class is prepared to drag the world into wider conflict in desperate attempts to mask its own crisis.
In the Philippines, this lie is especially danagerous. Pro-US politicians and CIA-trained military bureaucrats use tensions in the West Philippine Sea to justify deeper military integration with the US. They claim this alignment is defensive and necessary. But in reality, it is part of a broader strategy to pull the Philippines into US warmongering against China.
For the Filipino people, this reality is painfully familiar. The same imperialist policy at work in Venezuela is at work in the Philippines. The US has turned the Philippines into a forward military base through missile deployments, war exercises, and basing arrangements tied to its “first island chain” strategy to contain China. This militarization is paired with support for a brutal “counterinsurgency” war aimed at crushing the national liberation movement. Entire communities are bombed, activists are killed, and children are caught in the crossfire, all to ensure the Philippines remains firmly under US control.
From Caracas to Manila, people are pushing back. Venezuela’s resistance, and the solidarity it inspires, are part of a larger historical movement against US imperialism. The crisis of US imperialism is worsening, and it is deepening. And no amount of brute military force can stop that tide.