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• A mile from George Floyd Square, Trump’s ICE thugs execute a legal observer
• Who are Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores – and why Washington kidnapped them
• New Orleans protest denounces ICE and National Guard occupation
• Louisiana mothers organize daily ICE watch
• ICE shooting of unarmed man sparks people’s movement in Maryland
• The K-shaped economy is monopoly capitalism working as designed
• Comrade Lee Patterson ¡Presente!
• LEE PATTERSON five decades in Baltimore’s class struggle
• Dollar’s weakness is imperialism’s weakness
• Protesters in over 75 U.S. cities say ‘no war on Venezuela!’
• ‘We need allies, not war’: Los Angeles activists condemn U.S. attack on Venezuela
• From Attica to Rikers to Brooklyn: death behind bars in New York
• U.S. uses military force to seize oil and strangle Venezuela
• ‘Donroe Doctrine’: When sanctions fail, U.S. imperialism wages war on Venezuela
• Oil wealth, class power, and imperialist siege in Venezuela
• From the Monroe Doctrine to Caracas: how a declining empire turns to force
• Gaza’s ‘ceasefire’ exposes why Zionism must be defeated
• New Orleans marches for Palestine at start of Mardi Gras
• While Trump spoke of peace, the CIA escalated war against Russia
• Washington bets $11 billion on Taiwan war
• Trump threatens war on Iran as U.S. economic stranglehold tightens
• BURKINA FASO: Coup attempt against Traoré defeated
• Boricuas repudian militarización e intervencionismo gringo
• Puerto Ricans condemn militarization and U.S. interventionism

Tens of thousands of people in Venezuela, along with supporters around the world, are demanding that kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores be released and allowed to return home.

There are ways you can help.

Send letters of support and solidarity

Nicolás Maduro Moros
00734-506
MDC Brooklyn
Metropolitan Detention Center
P.O. Box 329002
Brooklyn, NY 11232

Cilia Flores
00735-506
MDC Brooklyn
Metropolitan Detention Center
P.O. Box 329002
Brooklyn, NY 11232

Participate in solidarity actions

• Travel to New York City to participate in jail support at the detention center.
• Join protests in your home city.
• Union members: Initiate a petition campaign or statement from your local.
• Students: Organize petitions at your high school or college, or issue statements from student organizations.
• Petition at your church and urge religious leaders to issue a statement.
• Send statements, petitions or individual demands to U.S. government officials involved in the kidnapping of the leaders of a sovereign country.

Contact U.S. officials

U.S. President Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
White House contact form: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
White House general phone line: 202-456-1414

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20530
Email: pamela.bondi@usdoj.gov
DOJ contact form: https://tinyurl.com/2x7s4d8d
Department Comment Line: 202-353-1555
DOJ Main Switchboard: 202-514-2000
TTY/TDD: 800-877-8339

Mail correspondence to the presiding judge

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse
500 Pearl St.
New York, NY 10007-1312

In a new delirious escalation of his anti-Cuban rhetoric and measures, the US president said on social media that there will be no more oil or money from Venezuela for Cuba, disregarding the sovereign nature of both Latin American nations.

@realDonaldTrump

Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators. BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years. Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the world (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.

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Díaz-Canel rejects Trump’s statements and reaffirms Cuba’s sovereignty

January 11, 2026

In response to today’s statements by US President Donald Trump, the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, categorically rejected any accusations against the island and questioned Washington’s moral authority to pass judgment on the Cuban reality.

“Those who turn everything into business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point fingers at Cuba in any way, absolutely none,” said the head of state, referring to what he described as a campaign of hostility and discredit against the Caribbean nation.

Díaz-Canel maintained that those who today “hysterically rail” against Cuba do so, in his opinion, motivated by anger at the sovereign decision of the Cuban people to choose their own political model. In this regard, he rejected attempts to blame the Revolution for the severe economic shortages facing the country.

“Those who blame the Revolution for the economic difficulties we are suffering should be ashamed to speak, because they know—and acknowledge—that they are the result of the draconian measures of extreme suffocation that the United States has been applying to us for six decades and now threatens to intensify,” he stressed.

The president reiterated that Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation that does not accept external impositions. “No one dictates what we do. Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the United States for 66 years,” he emphasized, while reaffirming the country’s willingness to defend its sovereignty against any threat.

Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said on his twitter account “Unlike the US, we do not have a government that lends itself to mercenary activities, blackmail, or military coercion against other states,”

Rodríguez explained that his country “has every right” to import fuel from markets “willing to export it,” in addition to exercising its right to develop its commercial relations “without interference or subordination to unilateral coercive measures by the US.” “Right and justice are on Cuba’s side,” he recalled.

At the same time, the foreign minister accused Washington of behaving like a “criminal and uncontrolled hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the world.”

Rodríguez also responded to Trump’s accusations that Havana was receiving “large quantities” of oil from Venezuela in exchange for providing security services. “Cuba does not receive and has never received monetary or material compensation for the security services it has provided to any country,” he emphasized.

Source: Cubadebate translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English

New Orleans, Jan. 6 – Marchers under the banner of “New Orleans for a Free Palestine” filled the street ahead of the Joan of Arc parade, the first of the Mardi Gras season. With a brass band among them – NOLA Musicians for Palestine – they chanted “Gaza, Gaza, you will rise, Palestine will never die!” bringing the message of liberation to thousands gathered in the French Quarter.

The pre-Joan of Arc march is now a three-year tradition. They have marched every year since the current U.S.-Israeli genocide began following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on Oct. 7, 2023, but is not the only such intervention in Carnival festivities.

For example, a Palestinian-led parade krewe – the Krewe of Chickpea – has also paraded in recent years on Lundi Gras, the day before Mardi Gras Day. (Lundi Gras falls on Feb. 16 this year.) Krewe of Chickpea takes inspiration both from New Orleans traditions (e.g., the Krewe of Red Beans that also marches on Lundi Gras) as well as Palestinian music and the pre-colonial spring festival of Mawsim in Palestine. 

In a display of internationalist solidarity, Krewe of Chickpea parades with Krewe of Las Frijolitas (little beans), a Dominican-led krewe. They honor figures like Mamá Tingó, a farm worker and activist who fought for rural farming communities in the Dominican Republic starting in the early 1970s. They have also honored the Venezuelan environmental activist Tortugita, who was shot and killed by Georgia State troopers in 2023 during the Stop Cop City struggle in Atlanta.

Now and historically, Mardi Gras is suffused with the spirit of resistance in majority-Black New Orleans. It is more than the tourism-money bonanza promoted by state and city leaders. Raising the banner of resistance – for Palestine, for Latin America, for Black and working-class New Orleans – is especially urgent this year. The genocide in Gaza grinds on while our city is occupied by ICE and the National Guard. These things are connected. The same people are behind it. 

The Cuban government announced Jan. 4 that 32 Cuban citizens were killed during the U.S. military strike on Venezuela in the early morning hours of Jan. 3.

The fighters were serving missions on behalf of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces and Ministry of the Interior at the request of Venezuelan counterpart agencies when U.S. forces bombed military installations and civilian areas across Caracas and northern Venezuela.

According to the Cuban government, the combatants “fell in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombing of the facilities” after offering “fierce resistance.”

Once their identities were confirmed, their families were notified and received condolences from Army General Raúl Castro, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and the heads of the institutions to which they belonged.

Cuba characterized the attack as “a new criminal act of aggression and state terrorism” and stated that the fallen combatants “knew how to uphold, with their heroic actions, the solidarity of millions of compatriots.”

President Díaz-Canel declared two days of national mourning, effective from 6 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5, through midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 6. During this period, the Cuban flag will fly at half-staff on all public buildings and military installations, and public shows and festive activities are suspended.

The Jan. 3 strike, codenamed “Absolute Resolve,” involved more than 150 U.S. military aircraft that bombed infrastructure across northern Venezuela. U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and flew them to New York City to face narcoterrorism charges.

Venezuelan officials report that more than 80 people were killed in the attack, including the 32 Cuban fighters and numerous Venezuelan military personnel and civilians. Strikes hit residential areas, including a civilian apartment complex in Catia La Mar.

Trump told reporters that “a lot of Cubans were killed” and said they “were protecting Maduro.” He added that two U.S. soldiers were injured but that no U.S. personnel were killed.

The Trump administration has said it plans to “run” Venezuela temporarily and exploit the country’s oil reserves and mineral deposits.

Presidential Decree declares national mourning

The following is the text of Presidential Decree 1147:

MIGUEL DÍAZ-CANEL BERMÚDEZ, President of the Republic.

I HEREBY ANNOUNCE: That by virtue of the provisions of Article 125 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba and Article 24, paragraph x), of Law 136 “Of the President and Vice President of the Republic of Cuba,” of October 28, 2020, I have considered the following:

WHEREAS: With deep sorrow our people have learned that during the criminal attack perpetrated by the United States government against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, carried out in the early morning of January 3, 2026, 32 Cubans lost their lives in combat actions, who were fulfilling missions representing the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, at the request of counterpart bodies of that country.

Our compatriots honorably fulfilled their duty and fell, after fierce resistance, in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombing of the facilities and knew how to uphold, with their heroic action, the solidarity of millions of compatriots.

THEREFORE: In the exercise of the powers conferred by Article 128, paragraph ñ), of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, I have decided to issue the following:

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE 1147

FIRST: Declare two days of National Mourning, from 6:00 a.m. on January 5 until midnight on January 6, 2026.

SECOND: To order that while the National Mourning is in effect, the Lone Star Flag be flown at half-mast on public buildings and military institutions.

THIRD: During the period of National Mourning, public shows and festive activities are suspended.

FOURTH: The Ministers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Interior, and Foreign Affairs are responsible for complying with the provisions of this Decree.

PUBLISH in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba.

GIVEN, at the Palace of the Revolution, on the 4th day of January 2026. “Year of the Centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.”

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez President of the Republic

Source: Prensa Latina

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to appear in New York City at the federal court on Monday, Jan. 5, after being illegally abducted by the Trump administration during an illegal large-scale military strike on Venezuela on Saturday, Jan. 3.

But New Yorkers won’t stand for illegal wars and kidnapping the president of a sovereign country. We say NO!

Join us tomorrow to stand up against the illegal actions of the Trump administration in their quest to profit from Venezuela’s oil and dominate Latin America.

Monday, Jan. 5
11:30 a.m.
Foley Square, Manhattan
(Outside the federal courthouse where Maduro will be arraigned)

Statement denounces invasion as pattern of imperialist violence, connects to historical enslavement of Africans

Editor’s note: The following statement was issued January 3, 2026, by the Global Afrikan Congress (GAC), a Pan-African organization dedicated to the liberation and self-determination of African people worldwide. Founded in 2002 in Barbados and organized in 35 nations, the GAC describes itself as the largest Pan-African Black Nationalist group in the world. The organization operates as an umbrella network of grassroots organizations across Africa, the Caribbean, North America, and Europe, and holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The GAC emerged from the African-African Descendants Caucus, which played an instrumental role in getting the transatlantic slave trade declared “a crime against humanity” at the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism.

The statement addresses both the U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, as well as the months-long campaign of U.S. military strikes on vessels in Caribbean and Pacific waters.

Prior to the January 3 invasion of Venezuela, the Trump administration conducted Operation Southern Spear, a series of military strikes beginning in September 2025 on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. According to reports compiled by the Washington Office on Latin America and documented in congressional testimony, at least 115 people were killed in these strikes through early January 2026. Legal experts have characterized these strikes as extrajudicial killings carried out without authorization or due process.

The statement’s reference to Trump pardoning a “drug-dealing President of Honduras” refers to Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in March 2024 of drug trafficking charges for facilitating the transport of over 400 tons of cocaine to the United States and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump pardoned Hernández on December 1, 2025, and he was immediately released from federal prison. The pardon exposed the Trump administration’s stated justification for attacking Venezuela as based on drug trafficking allegations against President Maduro.

STATEMENT BY THE GLOBAL AFRIKAN CONGRESS Condemning U.S. Aggression Against Venezuela and Extrajudicial Killings in Caribbean Waters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 3, 2026

The Global Afrikan Congress or GAC unequivocally condemns the Trump Administration’s unlawful invasion and military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela earlier this morning, Saturday, January 3, 2026.

In this context, we energetically condemn the kidnapping of the President of the Bolivarian Republic, Nicholas Maduro and his wife, the First Lady of Venezuela as well as the multiple reported extrajudicial killings of innocent fishermen in the Caribbean Sea that preceded the cited violation of Venezuela’s sovereign territory!

We also specifically condemn Trump’s declaration that the “U.S. will now run the country” of Venezuela which is a confirmation of what we always suspected that U.S. imperialism wanted to destroy Venezuela’s nationalist revolution to steal Venezuela’s oil and other resources!

We also firmly believe that these actions constitute grave violations of United States domestic law, international law, and the fundamental principles of sovereignty, human rights, and the sanctity of life.

We in the GAC also believe that the Trump Administration’s conduct reflects a dangerous pattern of state terrorism carried out under the false pretext of “border security” and a deliberately broken U.S. immigration system.

The GAC also believes that in practice, this action against Venezuela and its government is not about drugs and democracy but is instead about stealing Venezuela’s oil and other resources. If Trump’s invasion of Venezuela was about drugs, Trump would not have pardoned the former drug dealing President of Honduras who was tried and imprisoned for his drug trafficking of over 400 tons of cocaine in the U.S. for 45 years by a U.S. court.

The GAC also believes that Trump’s action against Venezuela is partly about deflecting from his government’s manifest failures of his domestic agenda to provide affordable housing, groceries, health care for tens of millions of Americans as well as the President’s own implications in the Epstein files.

We also observe that the attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its President and First Lady is consistent with Trump’s and the US empire’s war against people of color within the U.S. and beyond its borders.

We also believe that Trump’s actions against Venezuela also violate the U.S. Constitution, the War Powers Resolution, and binding international legal frameworks, including the United Nations Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and customary international law prohibiting extrajudicial killings and acts of aggression against all sovereign peoples.

We in the GAC also raise concerns about the inevitable violations of human rights, the likely use of U.S. military aggression and the dehumanization of the people of Venezuela who will be resisting U.S. occupation of their country and in defense of their anti-imperialist revolution.

We also uncompromisingly condemn the silence—or complicity—of much of the international community in the face of these crimes. In this context, we specifically condemn the compromised non-position of CARICOM led by the U.S. lackey, the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness who have said and done nothing in defense of Venezuelan sovereignty leading up to the violation of its territorial integrity and the kidnapping of its President and First Lady!

The GAC notes that the kidnapping of Venezuelan President, its First Lady and the theft of Venezuelan oil tankers, the violation of Caribbean and Latin American territorial waters are not isolated acts. They are part of a long continuum of imperialist violence that are not disconnected from the invasion of Africa and the systematic kidnapping of tens of millions of Africans, their enslavement, and centuries of colonial exploitation carried out for European and American imperial gains.

The Global Afrikan Congress affirms that the sovereignty of Venezuela, the Caribbean, and Latin America is not and will never be up for negotiation.

Here, we in the GAC also fully condemn U.S. imperialism under Trump and Rubio who are intent on remaking Latin America and the Caribbean as its geopolitical backyard. That’s what the attack on Venezuela’s nationalist revolution is largely about!

As such, we call upon regional governments, CARICOM, CELAC, the African Union, and the United Nations to break their silence and to act decisively to uphold international law and protect civilian life.

We further call upon the peoples of the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and the global African diaspora to resist these criminal policies through principled, organized, and collective action—just as our ancestors resisted enslavement, colonial domination, and apartheid.

Our history teaches us that dignity, freedom, and self-determination are never granted by empire; they are claimed through unity, courage, and unwavering commitment to justice.

The Global Afrikan Congress stands in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and with all countries and peoples resisting imperial violence, racism, and terror.

We demand accountability, reparative justice, and an end to U.S. aggression in our region and across the world.

Respect sovereignty!

End imperial violence!

Defend Sovereignty, Peace, Life and Human Dignity!

Minutes from a video conference with international solidarity organizations outline mobilization strategy

Editor’s note: The following are minutes from a videoconference held by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) with international solidarity organizations on January 3, 2026, following the U.S. military strikes and capture of President Nicolás Maduro. The meeting was led by Tanía Díaz, Vice President for International Affairs of the PSUV and member of Venezuela’s National Assembly. More than 3,000 participants from international solidarity organizations joined the call.

CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) is holding an emergency ministerial meeting on January 4, 2026, convened by Colombia, which currently holds the CELAC presidency. The UN Security Council will meet in emergency session on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. EST.

Minuta de la reunión con el PSUV sobre la situación en Venezuela

[English translation follows]

La compañera Tanía Díaz resaltó que la videoconferencia tenía como objetivo fundamental decir que Venezuela se mantiene de pie, firme y exige que se libere al presidente Maduro y sea devuelto a Venezuela, sano y salvo; así como también a la primera combatiente Cilia Flores. Se recalcó que Venezuela tiene un solo presidente, se llama Nicolás Maduro y está secuestrado.

Informó que la Vicepresidenta Delcy Rodríguez asume como encargada de la Presidencia de la República, ante el secuestro del Presidente Nicolás Maduro Moros por parte del régimen de EEUU. NO hay falta temporal ni absoluta. La Vicepresidenta asume encargaduría por la ausencia forzosa del Presidente.

Solicitó que sigamos movilizados y activos:

• La Solidaridad internacional debe mantenerse activa. Pedimos no parar hasta que nuestro presidente esté de vuelta en su patria y en sus funciones.
• Que mañana se activen con acciones y pronunciamientos en el marco de la reunión que hará la CELAC.
• Mencionó que hay un Canal de información oficial de telegram. Clave para tener información de primera mano: info psuv internacional https://t.me/InfoPSUVInternacional
• Se va a difundir una Carta de legisladores de la región exigiendo respeto al derecho internacional para hacerla llegar al Congreso Norteamericano. Importante que los más de 3000 conectados hoy a la videoconferencia la puedan suscribir.
• Consignar los documentos, comunicados, pronunciamientos que estamos haciendo, a instancias de ONU, Parlamentos, Academias, etc. Un ejercicio profundo de Diplomacia de Pueblos.

Agradeció la profunda y masiva solidaridad del mundo con el pueblo de Venezuela y su presidente Nicolás Maduro Moros.

Minutes of the meeting with the PSUV on the situation in Venezuela

Comrade Tanía Díaz emphasized that the videoconference had the fundamental objective of declaring that Venezuela remains standing, firm, and demands the liberation of President Maduro and his safe return to Venezuela, as well as the release of first combatant Cilia Flores. She stressed that Venezuela has only one president, his name is Nicolás Maduro, and he is kidnapped.

She reported that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumes responsibility as acting President of the Republic, in response to the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro Moros by the U.S. regime. There is no temporary or absolute absence. The Vice President assumes the acting role due to the forced absence of the President.

She requested that we remain mobilized and active:

• International solidarity must remain active. We ask that you not stop until our president is back in his homeland and in his functions.
• That tomorrow [January 4] you activate with actions and statements within the framework of the meeting that CELAC will hold.
• She mentioned there is an official Telegram information channel. Key for having first-hand information: info psuv internacional https://t.me/InfoPSUVInternacional
• A letter from legislators of the region demanding respect for international law will be circulated to be delivered to the U.S. Congress. It is important that the more than 3,000 connected to today’s videoconference can sign it.
• Submit the documents, communiqués, statements that we are making to UN bodies, Parliaments, Academies, etc. A profound exercise of People’s Diplomacy.

She thanked the profound and massive solidarity of the world with the people of Venezuela and its president Nicolás Maduro Moros.

International labor movement denounces U.S. strikes and capture of President Maduro as violation of UN Charter and regional Zone of Peace

Editor’s note: The following statement was issued January 3, 2026, by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) in response to U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro.

The ITUC represents 191 million workers in 169 countries and territories through 340 national affiliates, making it the world’s largest trade union federation. TUCA is the ITUC’s regional organization for the Americas, representing 55 million workers across the hemisphere through 48 affiliated organizations in 21 countries.

The statement references the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) proclamation declaring Latin America and the Caribbean a “Zone of Peace,” signed by 33 heads of state in Havana, Cuba, on January 29, 2014. That historic declaration committed member nations to resolve disputes through peaceful means, reject foreign intervention in internal affairs, respect each state’s right to choose its own political and economic system, and promote nuclear disarmament. The proclamation explicitly called on “all Member States of the International Community to fully respect this Declaration in their relations with CELAC Member States.”

The Trump administration’s military operation represents the most significant U.S. intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, directly violating both the CELAC Zone of Peace proclamation and the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force against sovereign nations.

Statement from the International Trade Union Confederation and Trade Union Confederation of the Americas

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) express their absolute and unequivocal rejection of the military operation carried out today by the government of the United States of America on the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Given the gravity of the events, which include the bombing of facilities in Caracas and confirmation by the U.S. government of the capture and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the international trade union movement declares:

1. Condemnation of military intervention: We denounce this action as a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the fundamental principles of international law. The use of military force and the incursion into the territory of a sovereign nation constitute an unacceptable act of war that jeopardizes the peace and stability of the entire region.

2. Defense of sovereignty and self-determination: In line with our historic position of defending the autonomy of peoples and supporting the statements issued by the governments of the region demanding unrestricted respect for Venezuelan sovereignty, we reject any attempt at regime change by force or through foreign interference. The fate of Venezuela must be decided exclusively by the Venezuelan people through democratic and peaceful mechanisms, without imperial tutelage.

3. Demand for human guarantees: We join the immediate international demand for proof of life, respect for physical integrity, and the release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as well as any other citizens detained in this illegal operation. Their current status must be made transparent to the international community without delay.

4. Call for peace and dialogue: We agree with the position expressed by the governments of Brazil, Mexico, and other countries in condemning violence and urging a return to diplomatic channels. The region must remain a zone of peace; we will not allow Latin America to be dragged into a military conflict for geopolitical interests that do not represent our peoples.

“These acts in no way defend democracy; they are clear acts of aggression as part of a militarized foreign policy agenda motivated by unilateral economic interests,” said ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle. “Threats of kidnapping and the misuse of the courts to attack a sovereign government undermine the international rule of law and set a precedent of imperial coercion that jeopardizes peace everywhere.”

“We, the trade union movement of the Americas, condemn the military aggression and kidnapping of President Maduro and his partner Cilia Flores, a violation of the sovereignty and integrity of the Venezuelan people and of all Latin America and the Caribbean, declared a Zone of Peace by Community of Latin American and Caribbean States since 2014,” said Rafael Freire, TUCA General Secretary. “We are activating mechanisms of international solidarity with the people and workers of Venezuela. We defend Venezuela and all of Latin America as a territory of peace. We do not accept invasion and violence against our peoples and territories. The trade union movement, as always, is on the front line of defending sovereignty and self-determination, democracy and human rights.”

The ITUC and the TUCA remain mobilized against imperialist, military or economic interference by one country in another, against wars, and in firm defense of peace, democracy and multilateralism.

For the sovereignty, peace and self-determination of peoples.

The following are remarks by John Parker of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice and the Struggle for Socialism Party, delivered at a Jan. 3 emergency protest in Los Angeles organized by Unión del Barrio, the Community Self-Defense Coalition, and other organizations.

Introduction by Ron Gochez, Unión del Barrio

We’re going to get started. Good morning to everyone, or good afternoon for those just joining us.

Thank you all for being here. The reason we’re here today, on behalf of Unión del Barrio, the Community Self‑Defense Coalition, and several other organizations that are present, is because we know what happened early this morning in Venezuela. We’re very concerned about what happened, and we’re here to share statements from various organizations.

Up first, we want to bring up someone who was just in Venezuela a couple of weeks ago and had the chance to see things firsthand. I’ll let him talk about it, but I want to bring up John Parker from the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice, and also from the Struggle for Socialism Party. John Parker.

John Parker, Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice / Struggle for Socialism Party

It’s so inspiring to have this action right here, and it’s so important, the things that we do. We absolutely condemn the brutal assault and the kidnapping that the U.S. government — the criminal U.S. government — is carrying out right now. One of the things we should demand is that Trump be jailed and that they free Maduro.

That’s right. What is the Democratic Party doing right now? Are they saying anything about it? Is the Republican Party saying anything about this criminal behavior, these war crimes that are going on right now?

I can tell you, a couple of weeks ago I was in Venezuela as part of a U.S. delegation to try to stop the war on Venezuela. And I can tell you why they don’t want Venezuela, why they kidnap Maduro. It has nothing to do with drugs. That’s a lie, and they know it’s a lie.

What they don’t want you to know is what the Venezuelan people and the government are doing right now to try to stop the horrible attack on the economy by the U.S. government, its sanctions, and things like that. What are they doing? They’re trying to build socialism in Venezuela.

I was there. I saw what they were doing. I saw the love that the people in Venezuela have for their president, for Maduro, and for the vice president who is now in charge. They have a great love. I saw Maduro walking around in crowds and not being afraid, not surrounded by heavy security, because he is secured by the love of the people and their love for socialism.

And that’s their “crime.” That’s why they’re trying to stop it — and we will not tolerate that.

We need food. We need health care. We need all the things required to feed our children. We don’t need war in Venezuela. We need allies. Venezuela was giving oil; they were helping poor people and poor communities in this country meet their basic needs, to stay warm through CITGO and things like that. That’s what they don’t like. They don’t like solidarity.

We’re going to build solidarity, and we’re not going to stop until this administration — whoever is collaborating with genocide in Gaza or wherever — is held accountable, until those folks are in jail and the real leaders of this community are able to take charge.