About the US military intervention in Venezuela
If we had to find a slogan to illustrate what characterizes the policies of the world’s major countries today, it would be “Viva la muerte!” Their goal is to develop all the means, both material and ideological, to cause more human carnage. To make things clear, the government with the largest military-industrial complex on the planet is changing the name of its Department of Defense to Department of War, while demanding that its 31 allied countries immediately increase their military spending to 5% of their GDP, which often means an increase of 100% or more. And they agree with applause… and plans to cut spending on health and education, for example. “Viva la muerte! Muera la inteligencia!” (1)
The same destructive madness is developing in the sick minds of governments on the other side of the planet, in China, Russia, Japan, and both Koreas.
“Capitalism carries within itself war the way clouds carry a thunderstorm”, Jean Jaurès rightly said in 1914.
The recent intervention of the US military in Venezuela, as well as the installation of enormous military forces in the Caribbean, are part of the ongoing disaster. What motivates the US government is not the fight against drug trafficking or a desire for democracy and freedom, but an effort to combat the decline of its economic dominance in the world and the spectacular development of China’s presence and influence in Latin America and the rest of the world. Defending the dollar as the world’s main currency, particularly the petrodollar, is one of the motivations behind this operation.
In 2024, the National Defense Strategy Commission (2) published a report that clearly states that the United States faces the most dangerous threats since 1945, including the threat of a major war, with China and Russia as the main enemies. A war for which, if it were to be prolonged and spread to different fronts, the country is not sufficiently prepared, either industrially or ideologically. “We need” the report says, “a warrior mindset”. The Trump administration is obeying and faithfully and brutally executing these guidelines. (3)
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, although most of them are still untapped and consist of very dense crude oil that is difficult to extract and transport. Venezuela’s current oil production is incredibly low compared to what it was in the past and what it could be. (4) But, first of all, in the event of a widespread war, these reserves could be decisive, especially for China. Second, Russia and China have invested billions of dollars in the Venezuelan oil industry. The repayment of these investments could be interrupted. Today, China absorbs more than 80 % of Venezuelan oil exports in repayment of these investments (estimated at $ 20 billion), and this repayment was supposed to last for years. Third, for a quarter of a century, Cuba has survived thanks to significant Venezuelan oil aid. That is why the first measures imposed by Trump on Delcy Rodriguez’s government concern oil. Three objectives: 1. “Open up the country to our giant oil companies” (Trump). 2. Seriously hamper Venezuela’s relations with China and Russia. 3. Try to strangle Cuba.
Trump claims to justify military intervention as a fight against drug trafficking that “poisons” Americans. It is true that Venezuela, with its 2,219 km of porous border with Colombia, has been, especially since the arrival of the “Chavistas” in power, a refuge and ally (supposedly “ideological”) of guerrilla groups such as the FARC, one of the world’s largest producers and traffickers of cocaine.
But the United States, the world’s largest consumer of cocaine and largest producer of marijuana, is home to huge American drug trafficking mafias. Why not start by cleaning up their own backyard? Incidentally, the cocaine that passes through Venezuelan networks is mainly exported to Europe. The cocaine that reaches the United States mainly passes through the Pacific and Mexico.
On another level, there is a significant factor that partly explains the spectacular nature of the huge military mobilization in the Caribbean: the ideological preparation of the American population, and young people in particular, for war. This involves the creation of the “warrior mindset” demanded by the Commission of the National Defense Strategy.
What transition?
Many people hoped that shortly after Maduro’s removal, everything would change, that thousands of political prisoners would be released, that torture centers would be closed, that the Bolivarian “colectivos,” the paramilitary groups created by Diosdado Cabello (5), would be disarmed and disbanded, and that the widespread police control they exercise would disappear… That the millions of Venezuelans who fled the country could begin to return…
But for now, a few weeks after January 3, apart from the “release” of a few political prisoners under direct pressure from the US authorities, the reality has not changed or, worse, has worsened in some respects. In “23 de Enero,” a working-class neighborhood of Caracas considered a stronghold of the regime, the “colectivos” have imposed an informal curfew by increasing the presence of armed men. After 6 p.m., the streets are empty. In the streets of Caracas, the colectivos carry out identity checks, searching and sometimes confiscating cell phones containing messages applauding Maduro’s capture. What prevails is a sense of anxious and fearful anticipation…
At the government level, what has changed is above all the absence of the number one. Three figures seem to constitute the main pillars of the “new” order.
1. Delcy Rodriguez, designated by Trump as “interim president,” was sworn in before the National Assembly in front of Jorge Rodriguez, her own brother and president of that assembly. She is one of the people who has held the most important positions in Maduro’s governments. But since January 3, each day has brought new revelations about the active role she played in preparing and carrying out the kidnapping. Trump continues to praise her and say that she is “a wonderful person.” A few hours after the attack, Trump told the New York Post that she was aware of it: “We have spoken to her several times. She is understanding, she understands.” As for her role at the head of the government, Trump says: “Her leadership is good and smart. We are working together to ensure the prosperity of both countries in this new era of trade.” Together with her brother, she quickly pushed through the National Assembly a first reading of a “reform of the organic law on hydrocarbons” to facilitate investment by American companies. All this does not prevent her from repeating that “no one but God decides my destiny”, that we must mobilize to bring back Maduro and his wife, who were kidnapped by a heinous foreign attack, etc.
2. Diosdado Cabello, Minister of the Interior and Vice President of the Government in charge of Citizen Security. Generally considered the most brutal man in Chavismo and the most important after Maduro. Every week, he presented and continues to present a television program with the significant title: “Con el mazo dando” (With the hammer striking). According to Reuters, he too had discussions with the US authorities a few months before Operation Maduro, which he categorically denies. For him, in Venezuela, “nothing has changed, the Bolivarian revolution continues… The bombing on January 3, which claimed the lives of more than 100 Venezuelans… has consolidated the unity of the country.” Although he affirms his solidarity with the measures taken by the government, despite being “the man who controls the guns”, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, he has taken no steps to disarm the colectivos or appease those most hostile to the new policy. “Cabello must go!” declares the influential American newspaper.
3. Vladimir Padrino, Minister of Defense and head of the army, although more discreet, is the third pillar of the current government. He is the one who has so far ensured the indispensable control of the military hierarchy. On January 19, he announced a “complete overhaul” of the military forces for the defense of the country after “an unprecedented imperialist aggression” and in order to be better prepared for possible new aggression in the future.
All three are among the officials sanctioned by the European Union on June 25, 2018, with their assets frozen and a travel ban imposed on them for “undermining democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela.” Delcy Rodriguez is at the center of what has been dubbed “Delcygate” for transporting 104 gold bars worth $68 million to Spain in January 2020. Both men are accused of drug trafficking by the US justice system, which, since January 2025, has been offering $ 25 million for Cabello’s capture and $ 15 million for Padrino’s.
The duplicity and double-dealing of these figures illustrate the grotesque paradoxes that characterize the situation in Venezuela a few weeks after the US intervention.
—
Some claim that the US intervention was ultimately a failure, as Chavista leaders, army generals, and others accused of drug trafficking are still free and in power.
But in reality, the current contradictory situation was anticipated by the authorities who prepared and carried out the intervention.
A few days ago, Marco Rubio, Trump’s Secretary of State (and proposed by Trump as the future president of Cuba), said: “We believe we are making very positive progress”. According to him, there is a three-phase strategy for the future of Venezuela under Washington’s tutelage:
1. stabilization, 2. recovery and reconciliation, 3. political transition.
But how can this first phase of “stabilization” be carried out? The main concern was to prevent the inevitable confrontation with Chavistas from degenerating violently into open and violent armed action, paving the way for civil war. The idea was to force some of the Chavistas in power to manage the stabilization of the situation themselves. This is why, for example, when some called for María Corina Machado, the main opposition figure, to be immediately put in power, Trump replied that she was not the right person because she did not have sufficient “respect and support”… presumably in the army and the colectivos. (6)
But to what extent can we say that “stabilization” will take place?
Politically and officially, Chavista leaders are stepping up their calls for peace and “unity” among the Venezuelan people. But little has changed in the practice of social life. In some respects, the situation has even worsened.
The release of political prisoners is underway. It should be remembered that Trump recently stated that he had decided to carry out a second military operation, but that he had canceled it when he saw that the government had begun to release political prisoners. Cabello claims that this release is in response to a decision made by Maduro before December and that it is part of a process of “national reconciliation.” But it is proceeding very slowly. The prisoners’ families often sleep in front of the prisons while they wait. The releases come with conditions: not to talk about the conditions of detention, not to make political statements… How far will this process go?
Apparently, the US government is confident and is preparing to reopen its embassy in Caracas. Recently, a large US plane filled with equipment for the reestablishment of the embassy landed.
In any case, Chavistas who have joined “the other side” should reflect on the famous quote by former US Secretary of State Kissinger: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”
—
What the Venezuelan reality demonstrates once again is that the only way to escape the stranglehold of the militant “Viva la muerte!” and Chavist or “democratic” dictatorships is through the difficult path of revolutionary and international conquest of control over our social life.
Raoul Victor
January 24, 2026
Raoul Victor who grew up in Venezuela is a long time militant in the left communist movement and a friend of Internationalist Perspective. His website is HERE.
—————————————
1. Attributed to General José Millán Astray, a pillar of Francoism, during a meeting on October 12, 1936, in response to Miguel de Unamuno, who had condemned the recent “uprising” with the famous phrase: “You will win, but you will not convince!”
2. This is an “independent” body, composed of experts from both the Republican and Democratic parties, created in 2022 by the Congress, whose function is to conduct an objective audit of the Department of Defense’s strategy and security issues in general.
3. The brutality of US imperialism is nothing new, even if it is reaching particularly spectacular levels today. Just over three years ago, President Biden did not hesitate to announce and destroy the gas pipelines that supplied German and European industry with Russian gas and to force European countries to buy much more expensive American gas.
4. In 2003, as a repressive measure following a major strike by the national oil company PDVSA, Chavez proceeded to lay off nearly 20,000 employees. Most were managers, engineers, and skilled technicians. Shortly thereafter, thousands of employees chosen for political reasons but without experience, including military personnel, were brought in en masse. The consequences in terms of incompetence and negligence, combined with chronic corruption, have been disastrous.
5. Inspired by the “Committees for the Defense of the Cuban Revolution”, they exercise strict control over the population, particularly in working-class neighbourhoods. They are systematically used to attack rallies or demonstrations against the government on motorcycles.
6. Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize winner and leading figure in the opposition to the Chavez regime, is a power-hungry personality. Knowing that Trump dreamed of winning the Nobel Prize that was awarded to her, she decided to share it with him and bring his medal to the White House. Machado, a true fan of the man, is complicit with the person who, for two years, encouraged, supported, and supplied all the weapons necessary for the appalling and infamous genocide of the population of the Gaza Strip, the man who is now waging a ruthless war against immigrant workers in his country. Trump thanked her and told the press that she was “a wonderful woman” and that they would have to see how to involve her in the current transition process. According to opinion polls, she would be the winner of any presidential elections—the third stage of Rubio’s plan.
