Members of the Atlantic Regional Communists (ARC) support the Venezuelan people and the continuation of the Bolivarian revolution. The attacks on Venezuela’s sovereignty violate international law and are actions of clear imperialist plunder and conquest.
After years of increasingly direct harassment via sanctions that have killed hundreds of thousands of citizens and forced millions to flee, the killing of so-called “narco” fishing boats with high-powered weapons, and enacting a direct economic blockade, early on January 3rd the United States unleashed a combined force against Venezuela, bombing several cities, airports and ports, and kidnapping President Nicholas Maduro and his wife. The total number of civilians killed and injured is as of yet, unknown.
Imperialist forces must leave, the embargoes and sanctions must end, and President Maduro and his wife must be released and returned to Venezuela.
These actions have been directly supported by the Canadian settler-colonial state and the rest of the imperial core. Both materially (in aided sanctions, military hardware, the freezing of sovereign assets and trade embargoes) and either endorsement or passive acceptance. Canada and its allies are in direct economic and political support of terroristic imperialist actions against the Global South and a direct line can and should be drawn from murderous actions abroad to back here on Indigenous soil. In the same way the US believes it is justified invading sovereign countries because it is “their” backyard, the Canadian settler-state believes it is justified in stealing and pillaging from peoples it is systematically oppressing and genociding.
The US is re-asserting its 200 year “Monroe Doctrine”, a policy that regards the entire western hemisphere as being in their direct domain. This began by snapping its junior partner, Canada, in-line while making threats toward Kalaalit Nunaat (the Inu name for Greenland). Actions against Venezuela are also an attack against Cuba; the US embargo has been renewed with the encirclement of Venezuela, its oil imports pirated. Their first order of business in Venezuela will be to attempt to install a compliant puppet government, or to directly rule Venezuela as a de-facto colony. Either way the goal will be to quickly privatize the oil sector and large swathes of the economy.
Last time western powers tried this, the Venezuelan people quickly mobilized to overthrow the coup, having Hugo Chavez returned safely. Regardless of how ultimately successful they are in overthrowing the Venezuelan government, their aim (like Syria before it) is to see US forces take over oil production installations for their own export, while protecting and arming pro-western dissidents within the country further choking the Venezuelan workers and peasants, Cuba, and the surrounding Caribbean region.
Venezuelans have long shown that they will not tolerate these actions from outside powers. They’ve defended their sovereignty many times, and we should expect them to continue to do so! They have the right to resistance no matter the form it takes.
For our part, the people who reside in the Imperial core, must refuse complacency. We must continue to stand against such atrocities just as many of us have in support of the armed Palestinian national resistance. To be most effective we must increase the organization of our communities to facilitate our education and our ability to protect ourselves and others from the aggression of imperial forces abroad and colonial forces here. It is the view of ARC members that settlers within so-called Canada must educate ourselves (and be willing to be educated) on the conditions of the colonized and imperialized, working and exploited classes of all nations and act to support liberation movements. ARC has begun this necessary work within its own organization in earnest and has been working with others as well.
The situation is unstable, but there are some key principles that we must stand by now and in the future:
¡Hasta la victoria siempre! Until victory, always!
Written and distributed by the Atlantic Regional Communists (ARC)