Denounce US Imperialism in the Caribbean & Violations of International Law
On December 16th, US President Donald Trump further escalated the ongoing hostilities against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, beginning a complete naval blockade and announcing a claim to Venezuela’s oil and natural resources.
The regime has stated that Chevron’s operations in Venezuela will be exempt from the illegally imposed blockade, including the delivery of oil to the United States. This selectiveness indicates that Venezuela’s trade partners and allies, not least of all socialist Cuba, are also targets of US actions in the region - the toppling of Cuba’s democracy and reimposition of a subservient puppet regime remaining a foreign policy goal of the United States since the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
This escalation comes one week after the US Navy illegally seized a Venezuelan oil tanker bound for Cuba, which the Trump regime has stated its intention to keep. Such blatant theft is nothing if not a clear act of international piracy. The cavalier attitude displayed by President Trump makes clear that the real intentions behind US imperialism in Latin America remain now, as ever, the colonial plunder of the continent’s wealth and resources.
Prior still, these actions come on the heels of months of attacks against vessels in the Caribbean, the authorization of covert CIA operations in the country, and the forced sale of Venezuela’s CITGO assets.
These actions represent heinous violations of international law, and yet another blatant assault on Venezuela’s sovereignty and rights enshrined in the UN Charter. We therefore call on the government of Canada as a UN member state, as well as all progressive forces to denounce these reckless and intolerable attacks, which make a mockery of democracy and the rule of law. We further demand an immediate halt to the Canadian armed forces’ participation in Operation CARIBBE, and to all exchanges of intelligence with the US military. Finally, repeat our ongoing call for Canada to lift its illegal sanctions on Venezuela.
Popular Democracy Movement, Central Executive Committee
Antifascist International Canada Chapter, Coordinating Committee
December 17, 2025
