Since September 2, 2025, the United States has bombed thirteen boats, two within twenty-four hours, killing a total of sixty-one people in international waters, under the unproven charge that the boats were carrying drugs headed for the U.S.
What is amazing in this unprecedented affair is that the expected public outcry has not been forthcoming; the corporate media reports it as if this is just another errant action by the Trump administration. What is clear is that the general public has been “dumbed down” by their own media and there is an accepted indifference to atrocities carried out by their government to others.
The bombings of these boats are not isolated cases; they are part and parcel of a wider U.S. foreign policy, driven by the U.S.’s “great power” obsession.
Revival and Expansion of the Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine got its name from President James Monroe who, in 1823, made a speech to Congress which suggested that the United States should exercise protection over the entire Western Hemisphere, supposedly to protect its national security.
In 1848 President James Polk revisited the Monroe Doctrine with justification of Manifest Destiny: the territorial expansion of the United States, westward to the Pacific and beyond.
In fact, an ideologue of the Democratic Party at the time, John O’Sullivan, wrote in his magazine that France and England were interfering in U.S. affairs for the express purpose of: “thwarting our policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny [emphasis added] to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”
Ever since the onset of the national liberation struggles in the former colonies, the United States has been interfering in the domestic affairs of the countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean: the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana; the overthrow and murder of Patrice Lumumba of the Congo;; the overthrow of Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala; the destabilization and overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile; the kidnapping and removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti; the invasion of Grenada; the destabilization of Jamaica under Michael Manley; the destabilization and ouster of Cheddi Jagan of Guyana; and the numerous destabilization activities, the Bay of Pigs invasion and numerous assassination attempts on the late Fidel Castro, and the continued embargo against Cuba.
There are 194 countries in the world and the United States (as of 2021) had a reported 1,221 military bases around the world. This is the face of empire. This is the expansion and glorification of the Monroe Doctrine. This is the theory and practice of “great power” chauvinism at its highest.
Since the founding of the Republic, the U.S. has never supported a progressive movement or government anywhere in the world. It has unashamedly acted as the world “police” to monitor, disrupt and punish all who do not ascribe to or yield to the dictates of Washington.
This is the context within which the provocation and continued aggression against Venezuela takes place; oil is collateral damage and the regime change is politically and ideologically driven. The intent is to derail the socio-economic direction of Venezuela, a direction chosen and supported by the Venezuelan people.
The Monroe Doctrine and The Crisis of Capitalism
According to recent economic reports, the United States national debt is now $38 trillion. The U.S. dollar is no longer the prime currency for international trade among nations; the formation and expansion of BRICS has weakened the economic and ideological hegemony of the United States; there is an overproduction of goods and services and the market for consumption of these goods and services has contracted, nationally and internationally.
According to a World Bank report, in 2024, the annual growth rate (GDP percentage) of countries such as China, Russia, Brazil, India, and Indonesia have outpaced that of the U.S. This is a cause of great and troubling concern to the “captains” of capital.
The procurement of material and natural resources, and the securing and control of spheres of influence, have become a survival imperative for capitalism; it must resuscitate itself. When normal democratic processes are no longer effective in “reviving” capitalism and restoring its “health,” it is forced to resort to extreme means, including authoritarianism and fascism.
The purpose is to put the burden of the crisis on the backs of the masses. It tries to solve the problem of markets by intimidating and pressuring weaker countries; it tries to impose its “great power” obsession on larger countries through disproportionate, vulgar and unfavorable trade deals, protectionism and tariffs.
Wherever the potential of breaking the oppressive yoke of capitalism exists, the ruling class must act decisively. Within their borders they ruthlessly crush dissent; outside, they encourage and foment hatred for other countries. It is a foreign policy of war, militarism, and intervention.
The U.S.’s Aim Is to Destroy the Bolivarian Process in Venezuela
It is clear that the accusations of Venezuela’s involvement in drug trafficking at a governmental level are false. Not one shred of evidence has been provided to support such allegations.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, “Even if such accusations were proven, the use of lethal force in international waters without a proper legal basis, constitutes a violation of international maritime law and amounts to extrajudicial executions.”
The report went further, stating that these attacks violated Venezuela’s sovereignty and that the United States has “fundamental international obligations” not to interfere in another country’s internal affairs or threaten it with military force.
The statement warned that these actions mark “a very dangerous escalation,” with profound consequences for peace and security across the Caribbean region.
The United States has relentlessly worked to destroy any semblance of progressiveness in the Venezuelan society: destabilization; coups; assassination attempts against current President Nicolás Maduro; unjustified unilateral sanctions, including the seizure of Venezuelan assets in the U.S.; the illegal auction of CITGO—Venezuela’s petroleum company—in the U.S.; the seizure of the Venezuelan presidential aircraft; the placement of a $50 million bounty for the capture of President Maduro, over unsubstantiated claims of his involvement with a drug cartel; the ill-fated coup by Juan Guaidó; and the ensuing destabilization erupting into violence that caused the loss of lives, headed by reactionary U.S. puppet María Corina Machado.
Ryan Grim, of Drop Site News, has a detailed report on the Trump administration’s consistent effort to undermine the working class democracy developing in Venezuela. The desperation of the U.S. has become so intense that they have approached some Caribbean leaders, requesting permission to station war vessels within their territorial waters.
The countries of Antigua and Grenada are among those directly asked. Guyana is already a voluntary puppet, and Trinidad and Tobago’s reactionary Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has offered up her country. The aircraft carrier USS Gravely is currently docked in Port of Spain, Trinidad; the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is on the way to the Caribbean.
The United States has reinforced its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear-powered submarine, and approximately 6,500 troops.
President Donald Trump also announced last week that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.
In this regard it is commendable that some courageous leaders of the Caribbean have not only refused the request but have reiterated their support and commitment to the Joint Communique signed in Brazil in June 2025. They reaffirmed that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean will remain a Zone of Peace.
President Maduro has several times called for dialogue and a de-escalation of the hostilities against Venezuela; in every instance, the United States has refused.
Against that background, President Maduro has wisely mobilized the entire country in defense of the country’s national sovereignty, and all attempts to crush the will of the Venezuelan people, through provocation and possible invasion.
In a speech at the installation of the Promoting Commission for the Venezuelan Workers’ Constituent Assembly, President Maduro has called on the working class to go on a general strike in the event of a U.S. invasion or escalation of hostilities against their country. Two years ago, I commented on U.S. imperialism’s reason and aim for the aggression against Venezuela.
“Socialism is being built in Venezuela through the Communes. The Communes as part of the Bolivarian revolutionary process—initiated by the late President Hugo Chávez—are continuing, despite numerous socio-economic challenges, worsened by the United States and other imperialist countries that have imposed sanctions against Venezuela.
The late Venezuelan President Chávez first established the Communes in 2005, describing them as a “superior form of political organization.”
Chávez stated: “The Communes are self-organized community cooperatives, formed by the citizens of the respective region. They engage in varied economic development projects including food production and distribution, pharmaceuticals, education, housing, and a women’s social center, among others. The surplus derived from the Communes’ economic endeavors is what is used to provide these social programs. The success of these communes to date has proven the effectiveness and socio-economic benefits of opting for a path of non-capitalist development. This ideological theory and practice cannot be allowed to flourish; United States imperialism will not allow this to continue and will endeavor to crush and defeat the progressive social transformative process.”
The latter is certainly true. However, Venezuelans have benefited immeasurably from the communes and the Bolivarian Revolution and will fight for its survival.
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About the Author
Richard Dunn is a retired construction professional, trained in Architecture and Energy Management.
He’s been a social justice activist since 1968 and was particularly active with the Walter Rodney defense demonstrations.
Richard is an author, a contributing columnist to newspapers, an editor for a music industry magazine and operates a social justice website.
Richard can be reached at: richarddunn75@gmail.com.
