US War on Venezuela – Why Now?

13-12-2025: Washington is all set for a regime change war on Venezuela. The US (United States of America) military has amassed 15 000 troops along with 11 warships in the Caribbean, including the largest carrier in its fleet – the USS Gerald R Ford.[1] In the build-up, the US military has been sinking boats off the Venezuelan coast, killing those on board, on the allegation that what may be fishing boats are smuggling drugs into the US itself. On September the 2^nd, the US military conducted an airstrike against a suspected drug smuggling vessel, where the first strike destroyed the boat and killed most people on board. Surveillance video then revealed that two survivors were clinging to the wreckage drifting in open water, whereupon the US forces launched a second strike which killed the shipwrecked sailors.[2] Such a “double-tap” strike, slaughtering people who may well be innocent and have nothing to do with drug smuggling, demolished any remotely legal argument there may have been for extra-judicial massacres. Even before this, no one was buying the “war on drugs” justification.

Regime change war

US imperialism is clearly gunning for regime change in Venezuela. Due to the unlikely prospects for a military invasion, it is more likely that the operation will combine decapitation strikes combined with even more covert assistance to the ultra-right wing Venezuelan US backed opposition, aiming for a reactionary internal overthrow. The aim appears to be to install Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in a grotesque display,[3] over the top of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Given the mass popular support for Maduro, and for the process of the Bolivarian Revolution 27 years after it began, the US backed right wing opposition will have a huge battle on their hands to make ground against the majority of the population, the volunteer militias and the Venezuelan armed forces. If such an attempt is made, it is likely that a protracted civil war or quagmire for the US troops will ensue, and the rapid loss of any international political support – of which there is next to none.

The question is, why is this an urgent need for imperialism at this point? Some on the left say that the primary reason is that the US is after Venezuela’s oil and this is no doubt a contributing factor. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, at an estimated 303.2 billion barrels, more than the next two largest oil producers. These are: Saudi Arabia at 267.2 billion barrels, and Iran at 208.6 billion barrels.[4] Other progressives say that US imperialism is finally moving to end “Socialism of the 21^st Century”, begun when former paratrooper Hugo Chavez was elected in 1998. Chavez began the process of using Venezuela’s oil wealth to fund housing, education and housing programs, often for the first time ever. US imperialism has covertly and overtly overthrown numerous Latin American governments for being even slightly left-wing, and it certainly attempted to overthrow Chavez in 2002. That attempt failed, as the Bolivarian Revolution soon returned Chavez to power. There is little doubt that US imperialism would much prefer a hard right-wing client or puppet state based in Caracas.

Multipolarity

However, the overarching reason for a regime change war on Venezuela at this moment is the existential challenge that imperialism faces in the form of multipolarity. The decline of capitalism is a trigger for the transition from a US dominated unipolar world to a multipolar world where all nations are treated equally, or at least in theory. The multipolar world is being led by the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The non-imperialist BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa plus 15 other states) is not the only pillar of this emerging new world, but it is a major part which was partially created by a declining US hegemon lashing out with sanctions, proxy wars, colour revolutions and other methods in an attempt to isolate Russia, China and Iran. Yet this has largely failed, as almost the entire Global South is eager for a new world to emerge.

It is Venezuela’s extremely close and strong bonds with Russia, China and Iran that most raises the ire of the Pentagon. On top of this, Venezuela is arguably the keenest nation on Earth which is striving towards joining BRICS. If not for the sectarian opposition of Brazilian President Lula, who blocked Venezuela and Nicaragua from joining BRICS at the last summit, Venezuela would already be a member.[5] Despite this, Venezuela will join BRICS sooner or later. And US imperialism cannot tolerate both Brazil (the largest Latin American country) and Venezuela, (its neighbour and potentially largest oil producer in the world) both being BRICS members and advocates. This will push Latin America even further towards multipolarity at a time when the US Administration is trumpeting the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine – denying “foreign adversaries” an economic or military foothold in the Western Hemisphere, or the Americas.[6] But it may already be too late.

President Maduro visited Russian President Putin in Moscow in May this year. Russia and Venezuela have a comprehensive strategic partnership based on “anti-hegemonic” solidarity and cooperation. The key areas of this partnership are in the military and the energy sector. In 2018, Russia dispatched two long range strategic bombers to Venezuela as a show of support at a critical time. Between 2001 and 2014 – key years of the early Bolivarian Revolution – Russian arms exports to Venezuela totalled approximately 14.5 billion dollars. This included SU-30MK fighters, Mi-35 and Mi-17 helicopters, tanks, and the advanced S-300 air defence system. In energy, Russian state-owned energy giant Rosneft formed joint ventures with the Venezuelan state oil enterprise PDVSA across several oil and gas fields. In these projects, Rosneft deliberately maintained a 40% ceiling on investment, maintaining respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty.[7] In August this year, Venezuela and Russia’s state arms conglomerate Rostec announced the long-planned opening of a Kalashnikov factory in Maracay, the capital of Aragua. This factory will produce 70 million cartridges per year and will manufacture AK-103 assault rifles.[8] With Venezuela manufacturing famed Kalashnikovs, Washington can only be concerned.

Ukraine on the brink of collapse

Venezuela also has deep and firm links with the socialistic Asian superpower, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). China-Venezuela ties this year have moved to a new level. The two nations have over 600 joint projects in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and technology. Surprisingly, Venezuela and China also cooperate on space exploration and AI (artificial intelligence) technology with China the acknowledged world leader in the latter. Beijing recently announced a $9.2 billion credit line to Latin America and the Caribbean, revealed during the May 2025 China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum.[9] The PRC is Venezuela’s largest creditor, even though repayments from Venezuela to China have fallen behind. In 2023, Venezuela still owed the PRC around $10 billion. Despite this, China/Venezuela relations remained extremely close and was upgraded to an “all-weather strategic partnership”, usually reserved for a select few nations.[10]

Raising the ire of Washington perhaps even more than links with Russia and China is Venezuela’s very close political and economic partnership with Iran, the seemingly permanent US nemesis. Some claim this was forged out of necessity, as both states remain under heavy sanctions from US imperialism. Iran exports refined oil products to Venezuela, as Venezuelan crude oil often cannot be processed due to a lack of infrastructure. Iran also supplies Venezuela with military hardware such as drones, but also agricultural products such as coffee, cocoa and tropical fruit. The Venezuelan government pays for Iran’s technical services with gold.[11] Iran also provided crucial assistance to Venezuela in 2020 when US sanctions caused severe fuel shortages, supplying crude oil, condensate and technical support.[12] If this wasn’t enough, in 2022, Iran and Venezuela signed a 20 year Strategic Cooperation Agreement, which covers cooperation in oil, petrochemicals, defence, agriculture and other sectors.[13] Ideologically, Iran and Venezuela is linked by a common struggle against US imperialism, which is often stated explicitly on both sides.

Arguably, a further basis for a regime change war on Venezuela now is to distract world attention from the near collapse of NATO’s Nazified regime in Kiev. The US ruling class is well aware that Ukraine is being defeated militarily on the ground by Russia, and there is nothing that Brussels or Washington can do about it. This long-planned proxy war on Russia has been a disaster and has strengthened Russia and brought NATO to its knees, if anything. In the process, it has also fortified multipolarity, and given further impetus to nations of the Global South siding with a just cause against aging colonialism. To be sure, multipolarity will not lead to socialism in itself, and will not end the horrors of capitalist ruin on its own. Yet workers of the world have a vital interest in strategically backing the emerging new world as a step towards the end of Wall Street’s domination of the planet. Marxist vanguard parties will need to be forged to ensure multipolarity continues to offer an alternative to the crumbling Western “rules-based order”. No War on Venezuela! No to Regime Change! Lift the Sanctions!

Workers League

www.redfireonline.com

E: workersleague@protonmail.com

[1] www.nypost.com/2025/11/30/us-news/11-us-warships-and-15000-troops-now-in-caribbean-amid-escalating-venezuela-tensions/ (10-12-2025)

[2] www.military.com/feature/2025/12/08/denial-defiance-hegseth-and-fallout-of-venezuelan-boat-double-tap.html (10-12-2025)

[3] www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/09/22/venezuela-opposition-leaders-back-us-naval-build-caribbean/ (10-12-2025)

[4] www.worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/oil-reserves-by-country (10-12-2025)

[5] www.riotimesonline.com/lula-blocks-venezuela-and-nicaragua-from-brics-amid-diplomatic-tensions/ (10-12-2025)

[6] www.behorizon.org/2025-national-security-strategy/ (10-12-2025)

[7] www.chinaglobalsouth.com/2025/11/03/russia-venezuela-strategic-partnership-military-energy-diplomacy/ (10-12-2025)

[8] www.latinamericanpost.com/americas/venezuelan-arsenal-grows-as-russian-ties-face-limits/ (10-12-2025)

[9] www.voiceofeast.net/2025/07/18/the-new-china-venezuela-partnership-is-challenging-u-s-hegemony/ (10-12-2025)