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At his first court appearance in New York along with his wife Cilia Flores, Nicolás Maduro told the judge, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” He declared himself a prisoner of war and a political prisoner, and along with Flores pleaded not guilty to all of the ridiculous counts of narcoterrorism and gun charges against him. Outside the court on January 5th, supporters rallied and chanted, “no boots on the ground, no bombs in the air, U.S. out of everywhere.”
The attack on Venezuela that killed at least 80 people, the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores and the threats against Colombia, Mexico and Cuba are the implementation of the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, laid out in the 2025 National Security Strategy. As the State Department simply and grotesquely put it in an X post, “This is our hemisphere” is the renewed focus of the U.S. empire.
It’s a very dynamic situation that calls for urgent action. Within hours of the news of the attack on Saturday, tens of thousands of people in over 100 cities in the United States took to the streets to condemn it and the further threats made by Trump and his administration. Many more in Venezuela and around the world have mobilized against this raw act of gangster imperialism.
This is a war on multiple fronts: military, economic, political and information – and disinformation intended to sow distrust and chaos has been spreading wildly.
PLUS: We bring you an interview with Jessica Plichta, who was arrested by Grand Rapids Police Department for speaking out against U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
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About the Author
Rachel Hu is a journalist with “BreakThrough News,” a new independent media project, where she hosts the podcast “It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism.”
She is also a host on WBAI 99.5FM in NYC and has been an anti-war and anti-racist activist with the ANSWER Coalition for the last decade.
Rachel can be reached at: rachel@wbai.org.
Chris Garaffa has been an anti-imperialist and social justice organizer since joining the movement against the Iraq war in 2003.
Chris is a weekly guest on Sputnik Radio’s “By Any Means Necessary,” and co-hosts the podcast “The Reboot,” focusing on the intersection between technology and human rights.
Chris can be reached at: chris.garaffa@gmail.com.
I hope that the non-operation of the S-400 causes reflection among the Chinese leadership. In Iran, there were ten dead Iranians for every one dead Israeli in Israel, because the air defenses were not working. Previously, this same air defense was not working in Syria either, and that is why Syria is now under Israeli control. China must definitely check the S-400 software and the treacherous nature of the Russians. Maybe the Chinese should put their nuclear missiles and troops in Iran. After Soleimani’s death, the Iranians are just a bunch of idiots who only know how to chase bare-headed women and dogs.