More Countries Condemn Trump's 'Imperialist' Saber-Rattling Against Venezuela
An alliance of Latin American and Caribbean nations said Trump's military deployment poses "a threat to the stability and self-determination of all the peoples" of the region.
China and members of an alliance of Latin American and Caribbean nations in recent days joined countries including Brazil and Colombia and anti-war voices around the world in denouncing the Trump administration's deployment of US warships off the coast of Venezuela.
At least three US Navy guided missile destroyers and thousands of Marines are currently off the coast of Venezuela, with Pentagon officials citing President Donald Trump's January executive order designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and his directive authorizing military force to combat narcotraffickers abroad.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that "China opposes any move that violates the purposes and principles of the [United Nations] Charter and a country's sovereignty and security."
"We oppose the use or threat of force in international relations and the interference of external forces in Venezuela's internal affairs under any pretext," she added. "We hope that the United States will do more things conducive to peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region."
Mao's remarks came on the same day that members of the 11-nation Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) issued a declaration during the group's virtual 13th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government condemning the Trump administration's "imperialist policy of harassment and destabilization" and demanding "the immediate cessation of military threat or action" against Venezuela.
The declaration expresses support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and decries the "groundless, mythomaniacal accusations with no legal basis" against him by the Trump administration, which alleges that Maduro is one of the world's leading drug traffickers. Trump recently doubled the Biden administration's bounty on Maduro from $25 million to $50 million.
In 2020, the first Trump administration's Department of Justice charged Maduro and 14 Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the US, accusations the South American leader denies. The charges followed Trump's formal recognition in 2019 of an opposition coup leader as the legitimate president of Venezuela—a policy continued by the Biden administration—and the imposition of a full economic embargo on Caracas.
The ALBA-TCP declaration asserts that the Trump administration "seeks to delegitimize sovereign governments and pave the way for foreign intervention."
"These practices not only constitute a direct attack on Venezuela's independence, but also a threat to the stability and self-determination of all the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean," the alliance added.
Addressing the summit Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that "Cuba firmly denounces this new demonstration of imperial force and makes a call to ALBA-TCP and from here to all the peoples of the world to condemn this irrational attack by the Trump administration," according to Venezuelanalysis.
"The issue is not only Cuba, the whole region is under threat and only with integration can we fight against that because the United States intends to define the options to subjugate us or be objects of aggression," Díaz-Canel added.
As Common Dreams reported, other Latin American leaders also condemned Trump's military deployment, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro telling his Cabinet Wednesday that "the gringos are mad if they think invading Venezuela will solve their problem" and Celso Amorim, a foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, warning of "the risk of an escalation" and reiterating that "the principle of nonintervention is fundamental" to international order.
Although Trump has been a vocal critic of the regime change policies of past administrations—especially that of fellow Republican George W. Bush—he and members of his Cabinet have floated the idea of ousting Maduro, including via US invasion.
The United States has been meddling in Venezuela's affairs since the 19th century, citing the dubious Monroe Doctrine to assist coups, support brutal dictatorships, and pursue policies of economic strangulation in an effort to exert control over the country and its immense petroleum resources.
