With carriers off Venezuela, a call to action to stop a new war

Across the United States, antiwar organizations are rallying to a new Call to Action to stop another regime-change war. The demand is straightforward: stop the U.S. military buildup. A week of coordinated protests is planned for Nov. 15–23, with rapid-response actions ready if U.S. forces escalate.

In late October, the Pentagon launched one of the largest U.S. military deployments to the Caribbean in a generation. Now, aircraft carriers, bombers, and thousands of troops patrol waters close to Venezuela. This show of force could spark a war.

A show of force

The scale of the operation is staggering. At its center is the USS Gerald R. Ford, the most advanced aircraft carrier ever built, flanked by guided-missile destroyers and a nuclear submarine. Ten thousand troops have joined the deployment, along with F-35 stealth jets, B-1B bombers flying from Texas and North Dakota, and P-8 Poseidon surveillance planes patrolling the Caribbean.

In Puerto Rico, the U.S. military has reopened the Roosevelt Roads naval complex — closed since 2004. It has also turned civilian airports in Puerto Rico and St. Croix into military platforms. Ammunition depots, mobile control towers, and runway expansions all signal a longer-term presence. What the Pentagon calls “forward operating logistics” is really a plan for a permanent military presence.

These are the preparations for war.

The false pretext and the real prize

Don’t be fooled by the “war on drugs” pretext. It’s a recycled lie, hiding the true aim of toppling governments and controlling resources.

Aides to Secretary of State Marco Rubio have openly called for removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro. Former President Trump said the quiet part out loud after his first term: “When I left, Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken all the oil,” he said, pointing to Venezuela’s vast reserves — the largest in the world — as the ultimate prize.

The antiwar fightback

A grassroots uprising is building. A coalition of over 30 organizations — including the United National Antiwar Coalition, Code Pink, Veterans For Peace, the Black Alliance for Peace, the Struggle for Socialism Party, and the International Action Center — is taking to the streets. The target: the war machine. The actions: rallies, teach-ins, and direct protests at weapons makers and federal buildings.

The message is simple: the war abroad is theft at home. Each day, the $18 million spent on the armada is money stolen from housing, health care, and food. “The same system that bombs abroad cuts food stamps at home,” one organizer said.

The conclusion is inescapable: to stop this war, we must confront the imperialist system that wages it — at home and abroad.

For more information, go to tinyurl.com/venezuela-solidarity