FRED M’MEMBE CONDEMNS U.S. MILITARY AGGRESSION AGAINST VENEZUELA

STATEMENT CONDEMNING U.S. MILITARY AGGRESSION AGAINST VENEZUELA

At 2:00 a.m. local time on 3 January 2026, the United States launched military strikes against multiple sites in and around Caracas and the adjoining states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira. These attacks targeted military installations and civilian areas alike, resulting in a direct assault on Venezuelan sovereignty and the lives of innocent people.

The Socialist Party unequivocally condemns this act of war, which constitutes a flagrant violation of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter prohibiting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This is not merely aggression—it is a war crime under international law.

The gravity of this situation has escalated further with the alarming disappearance of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has confirmed that following this brutal attack, the whereabouts of President Maduro and the First Lady are unknown. While the Trump administration claims to have captured and removed them from Venezuela, Vice President Rodríguez has rightly demanded that the United States provide immediate proof of life for both President Maduro and the First Lady. This potential abduction of a sitting head of state represents an unprecedented escalation in imperialist lawlessness.

The United States has made abundantly clear that this war, which it has imposed on Venezuela, is about oil and nothing other than oil. It is a naked exercise in resource plunder, dressed up in the rhetoric of democracy and human rights. Washington cannot tolerate a government in Caracas that insists on using Venezuelan oil wealth for the benefit of the Venezuelan people rather than ExxonMobil and Chevron.

The Trump administration had threatened to carry out land strikes against Venezuela for months and even declared the Venezuelan government a “terrorist organization”—a transparent pretext for bypassing the U.S. Congress to take unilateral military action. This calculated preparation for aggression exposes the lie of American “democracy” and “rule of law.”

The United States will not prevail in Venezuela. It will face determined resistance not only from the Venezuelan people and their Bolivarian Armed Forces, but from the peoples of the world who refuse to return to an era of open colonial warfare.

We call upon progressive governments worldwide, and all peace-loving peoples to:

• Condemn this illegal military aggression in the strongest possible terms
• Demand the immediate cessation of all U.S. attacks against Venezuela
• Demand immediate proof of life for President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores
• Support Venezuela’s right to self-determination and sovereignty over its natural resources
• Mobilize international solidarity to defend the principles of the UN Charter
• Recognize this attack for what it is: an attempt to impose a colonial war and seize Venezuela’s strategic resources

No to violations of the UN Charter.

No to War.

Yes to Peace.

The era of unchallenged imperialist aggression is ending. From Caracas to Kabul, from Baghdad to Bamako, the peoples of the Global South are rising to defend their sovereignty. History is on the side of those who struggle for justice, not those who drop bombs to steal oil and kidnap elected leaders.

Aluta Continua!

Dr. Fred M’membe
President, Socialist Party Zambia
January 3, 2026