From the CNY Solidarity Coordinating Committee:
President Trump’s attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of its leader is illegitimate and illegal. Trump’s claims that Maduro was a narco-terrorist are a transparent attempt to justify military action. This absurd claim is also contradicted by his recent pardon of former Honduran President Hernandez, an actual drug kingpin convicted of drug running into the US.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that he wants control of Venezuelan oil reserves and that the US will “run the country” while US oil companies are “heavily involved” . This is called imperialism, and the world will see it as such. Many, including former allies, will want nothing to do with us as trust is replaced by suspicion. Others will be encouraged to create their own imperial spheres of interest. Russia and China will be happy to cite the US example as they forcibly dominate neighbors.
Trump’s boast that the US will “run the country” reflects a dangerous hubris. From Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, the history of US foreign policy shows the difficulty of so-called “nation-building” which has repeatedly devolved into open-ended military occupation and quagmire at enormous financial and human cost.
Trump’s attack is contrary to both international and US law. The US constitution vests the power to declare war in Congress. This is part of a pattern of authoritarian actions in which Trump has undermined the constitutional separation of powers and tried to make the presidency above the law and entirely unaccountable, precisely the scenario the founders warned against and designed the constitution to try and prevent.
Maduro may have been a despicable dictator but removing him in an imperial action justified with transparent lies does not serve the cause of democracy and endangers US interests in numerous ways.
The Trump administration recently released their National Security Strategy clearly expresses aspirations for hemispheric domination, and Trump is now threatening Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico, all of which strongly suggest that the Venezuela attack may be a precursor for further attempts at regime change or military domination targeting Latin America.
Every member of Congress should condemn these actions and demand that military force be used only in compliance with US and International law.
