BAYAN Calls for International Solidarity with Venezuela, Condemns US Naval Blockade, Terrorist Designation, and Fabricated “Drug War” Pretext
In the most brazen escalation of imperialist aggression to date, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela,” declaring the nation to be “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.” This act of international piracy, coupled with the grotesque and legally baseless designation of the Bolivarian Republic as a “foreign terrorist organization,” constitutes a blatant act of aggression tantamount to war, aimed at the theft of a sovereign nation’s resources and the overthrow of its government.
We stand in unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people and their government, which has rightly denounced this “reckless and grave threat” and Trump’s assumption that “Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property.” This blockade is not an isolated act but the violent culmination of a months-long military campaign built upon a foundation of lies. The end goal is “regime change”—the forcible removal of a legitimate government to install one under the boot of US imperialism.
The Architecture of Imperialist Disinformation: “War on Drugs” as a Manufactured Justification
Central to the U.S. strategy is a comprehensive information war campaign that manipulates facts, exploits humanitarian concerns, and demonizes legitimate political processes to manufacture consent for intervention. The cornerstone of this campaign is the cynical revival of the “war on drugs” as a casus belli. The Trump administration has sought to justify its unprecedented naval buildup and over 25 deadly strikes on vessels—which have killed at least 95 people—as a “war on drugs.”
The administration has refused to release evidence from these strikes, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stating they will not release “top-secret” footage, while survivors of initial strikes have been killed in follow-up attacks. The true goal was admitted by Trump’s own chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who said the President “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.”
Furthermore, U.S. officials claim these actions target drug trafficking from Venezuela, yet this narrative is a deliberate falsehood. Official data dismantles this pretext: a 2024 U.S. The Drug Enforcement Administration report does not cite Venezuela as a major trafficking route; only an estimated 8% of U.S.-bound cocaine transits through the country, and the deadly fentanyl crisis originates from China and Mexico. Former United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Pino Arlacchi has categorically stated that Venezuela’s anti-drug cooperation was “one of the best in South America” and that the “Cartel of the Suns” is a geopolitical fiction “as legendary as the Loch Ness Monster.” The UNODC’s 2025 World Drug Report barely mentions Venezuela, confirming it is irrelevant on the global drug map.
This confirms that the so-called drug war is a cynical and manufactured pretext—a strategic distraction and a false flag operation designed to create a justification for the real objectives: resource plunder and the imposition of a puppet regime.
The Mechanics of Imperialist Capture: The Puppet and the Blockade
The intended beneficiary of this aggression is the U.S.-backed opposition, crystallized in the figure of María Corina Machado. Recently awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in a suspicious political act, Machado has fully aligned herself with Trump’s belligerence, praising U.S. military actions as “decisive” in weakening her own nation’s government. She has vowed that “Maduro will leave power,” and while paying lip service to a peaceful transition, her alignment with Washington’s violent pressure campaign
speaks volumes. The blockade serves to cripple the Venezuelan state economically, creating the conditions for Machado and the old oligarchy to be installed as managers of a newly privatized Venezuelan oil industry for U.S. corporate benefit.
The blockade is an act of economic warfare. By targeting the 80% of Venezuelan oil sold via alternative routes to countries like China, the U.S. aims to sever the nation’s economic lifeline. This follows years of illegal sanctions that have crippled the economy and caused profound suffering among the Venezuelan people. The recent seizure of the Skipper oil tanker and its escort to Texas was a prelude, denounced by Venezuela at the UN as “an act of state piracy.” This escalation has been met with a principled regional rejection. At the recent CELAC summit, 58 of 60 nations signed a declaration rejecting “the use or threat of use of force,” a clear rebuke to Washington.
Venezuela’s Sovereign Right to Defense: The People in Arms
BAYAN recognizes and salutes the sovereign right of the Venezuelan people to defend their nation. The backbone of this defense is the Bolivarian National Militia, a civilian force fully integrated into the national defense structure. This mobilization of millions is not merely a military formation but a profound political commitment by the Venezuelan people to uphold their sovereignty against imperialist aggression.
This strategy, known as Guerra de Todo el Pueblo (War of All the People), is a principled doctrine of popular defense born from the Bolivarian Revolution. It does not seek conventional victory against a superior navy but aims to make any invasion and occupation unbearably costly. It prepares for prolonged popular resistance across Venezuela’s dense urban centers, formidable mountains, and vast jungles. The Venezuelan people, trained in this doctrine and armed with the right to self-determination, are prepared to defend their homeland and transform it into a nation of resistors.
Solidarity in the Face of the Armada: An Internationalist Imperative
The largest U.S. naval armada in South American history now sits off Venezuela’s coast, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. Its purpose is not law enforcement but intimidation, theft, and war. Trump’s revival of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine—declaring the hemisphere as Washington’s exclusive zone of influence—is a declaration of colonial intent.
BAYAN, representing the Filipino people who know the scars of colonialism and US imperialist intervention, declares its firmest solidarity with Venezuela. We see our own struggle in theirs.
We condemn:
1. The illegal naval blockade, an act of war violating international law and the UN Charter.
2. The fraudulent terrorist designation of a sovereign state, a pretext for further aggression.
3. The ongoing military strikes and killings in international waters, which are extrajudicial executions.
4. The broader economic war of sanctions is designed to starve the Venezuelan people into submission.
We call on all progressive forces, anti-imperialist movements, and sovereign nations to:
– Amplify Venezuela’s denunciation of this blockade at the United Nations and all international fora.
– Demand the immediate withdrawal of the U.S. naval armada from the Caribbean and an end to all hostile actions.
– Expose the alliance between Trump, Machado, and the Venezuelan oligarchy that seeks to sell the nation’s riches.
– Recognize Venezuela’s right to defend itself and to choose its own political and economic path, free from foreign coercion.
The battle for Venezuela is the frontline battle against a desperately bellicose, rapacious US imperialism in decline. To defend Venezuela is to defend the sovereignty of all nations under threat. The US imperialist Armada represents the past; the united people in defense of their homeland represent the future.
#HandsOffVenezuela!
No to the Blockade! No to the Armada!
Long Live International Solidarity!
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