11-01-2026: On the night of Jan 2/3, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilla Flores were kidnapped and taken to the USA by DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) officials, while the US military bombed military targets in the capital Caracas. This follows a vast US military build-up in the Caribbean, squarely aimed at regime change. Maduro is slated to be charged in a New York court under spurious charges such as the “possession of machine guns”. At the very least, the kidnapping of the Venezuelan President is a blatant violation of the United Nations (UN) Charter. International law is very clear that one country cannot lawfully overthrow the leader of another, nor can it try them it its domestic courts.[1] Yet the trampling of international law alongside other basic agreements on trade and co-operation between states is today the norm for President Donald Trump, the rogue leader of US imperialism. Washington’s claims to be the overseer of a “rules based international order” stand in tatters, and its actions in Venezuela at the start of a new year may be a sour harbinger of an unfortunately anticipated World War III.
Multiple empire attacks
The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela has been in the crosshairs of US imperialism since Hugo Chavez was elected in 1998, embarking on the program of a “Socialism of the 21st Century”. In 2002, US imperialism kidnapped Chavez in an attempt to derail his support, only for mass groundswell to return him to power within 48 hours. Now Maduro has been kidnapped and he faces many years in prison in the US, without committing a crime, and on the basis of zero evidence. There may have been some kind of deal done, or Maduro’s security services may have been bribed, as there was no firefight when the US choppers moved in. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in, but statements and actions from her so far do not indicate that she will bend to the will of Trump or US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On the contrary, the US may well have kidnapped the President, but it has not achieved regime change. Many Venezuelans have now demonstrated in defiant support of Maduro and the Bolivarian process.
Yet the attack on Venezuela by US imperialism cannot be understood in isolation. It should be seen as but one salvo in a volley fired against the Global South, and against the very concept of multipolarity. Washington struck Venezuela, but the real targets are Russia, China, Iran and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The kidnapping of Maduro, which reportedly took the lives of 32 Cuban security personnel and up to 80 others, took place at virtually the same time as an attempted assassination of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. On January 2, Admiral Igor Kostyukov personally handed evidence to US officials that 91 drones fired from Ukraine targeted the President’s residence in Novgorod.[2] This after US and European governments have “donated” hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine’s Nazi infested state to wage a proxy war on Russia, threatening the globe with nuclear annihilation.
Moreover, the kidnapping of Maduro in Caracas took place only five hours after he had welcomed Qiu Xiaoqi, China’s Special Representative on Latin American Affairs. The high-level delegation from China was a part of managing around $105.6 billion worth of loans and financial aid.[3] Like the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a major ally of Venezuela and is a major purchaser of Venezuelan oil. It may have been a coincidence that the Chinese delegation was there at the same time as the US moved in to kidnap Maduro, or perhaps it was intentional. The Trump Administration in the US has made no secret of its drive to ensure that the PRC does not “own or control” assets in the Western Hemisphere. Of course, the PRC’s economic activity in Latin America is not exploitative and vastly contributes to the development of the continent. The Chancay Port in Peru, built with the assistance of the PRC, will help the economic progress of Latin America, not just Peru.
If this was not enough, on January 3, Trump warned the Islamic Republic of Iran that if it shot and killed protestors, the US was “locked and loaded” – threatening the bombing of its country yet again. These protests very quickly turned into violent riots, and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad publicly revealed itself to be “in the field” with the rioters and was not only giving verbal support from a distance.[4] US imperialism and its Israeli proxy has threatened Iran for decades, and waged kinetic war on Iran for 12 days in June. Iran is a very strong ally of Venezuela, as military and oil refining cooperation has been ongoing for years. Iran has assisted Venezuela resist the effects of US sanctions, which is a major reason for the economic problems currently afflicting Iran itself.
To pour fuel on an already raging fire, the attack on Venezuela comes a week after the US military bombed Nigeria[5] on Christmas Day, allegedly targeting ISIS terrorists – but in fact working with them. The attacks on Nigeria were, in reality, aimed at the AES, the grouping of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The AES has joined forces to combat the violent terror militias armed and funded by the West, and to assist each other economically after centuries of colonial plunder. The AES has expelled French troops from their territories and have begun the process of nationalising key industries so that its resources and wealth are no longer extracted by the Western powers, with nothing returning. Undoubtedly, the growth and consolidation of the non-imperialist BRICS alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa plus 15 other Global South states) has contributed to the founding of the AES – even while Nigeria is a member of BRICS. The US backed terror militias deployed across Africa play multiple roles as part of a Western campaign to counter the influence of Russia and China, and indeed BRICS and the AES themselves.
Trump’s moves on Venezuela also prevent (for now) Venezuela joining BRICS, for which it was clearly next in line. It is clear that with the rapid decline of capitalism in the West, it is waging a desperate last-ditch attempt to prevent the non-imperialist world from offering an alternative. Working people can and do have legitimate criticisms of the governments of the states heading the drive towards multipolarity (strict respect for the national rights of all states, large or small), but it is evident that the Global South must be defended against imperialism. Socialism can be achieved, via solidarity with those who resist. Release President Maduro! Abolish NATO! Abolish AUKUS! No to regime change! No to World War III!
Workers League
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[1] www.news.northeastern.edu/2026/01/03/us-captures-nicolas-maduro-regime-change/ (07-01-2025)
[2] www.indiatoday.in/world/story/russia-hands-us-drone-evidence-ukrainian-strike-putin-residence-novgorod-glbs-2845298-2026-01-02 (07-01-2025)
[3] www.wionews.com/world/china-s-100-billion-in-loans-at-stake-in-venezuela (07-01-2025)
[4] www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-881733 (07-01-2025)
[5] www.legit.ng/nigeria/1690204-us-air-strike-nigeria-explained-terrorist-targeted-impact-what-next/ (07-01-2025)
Image: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro kidnapped by US DEA Agents. http://www.news.sky.com
Red Fire 