AIL statement against the imperialist aggression in Venezuela
We hereby share a statement issued by the Coordinating Committee of the Anti-Imperialist League (AIL).
Anti-imperialists of the world, unite!
Against the Imperialist Aggression Against Venezuela
Let Us Organize the Anti-imperialist Resistance of the Peoples of the World
We, working-class, socialist, progressive and Anti-imperialist forces from different countries of the world, strongly condemn the imperialist aggression directed against Venezuela.
The attack carried out against Venezuela is not a narrow intervention against a government, nor a temporary diplomatic crisis or a cyclical foreign policy maneuver. This attack constitutes a direct declaration of war against the sovereignty of a state, the political will of a people, and the independent existence of a country. Imperialist centers attempt to legitimize this aggression through their familiar propaganda formulas: “security,” “the fight against drugs,” “stability,” and “democracy.” However, the peoples of the world are no longer deceived by these lies. Venezuela is today targeted with the same justifications used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya, and Syria. To which a direct threat to Cuba, Mexico and Colombia are now added. What has changed is only the target country; what has increased is imperialist recklessness.
U.S. imperialism has launched an open war of aggression against Venezuela. The country has been bombed, strategic infrastructure has been targeted, and Venezuela’s constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro, has been forcibly abducted and taken captive. The aim of this aggression is to transform Venezuela into a fully subordinated U.S. semi-colony within the imperialist hierarchy.
This attack is not independent of the logic of the imperialist system. Imperialism is the highest and at the same time the decaying stage of capitalism. The concentration and centralization of capital, the dominance of finance capital, and the division of world markets inevitably drive imperialist states toward wars of re-division. Falling profit rates, excessive capital accumulation, the contraction of productive investment, and intensified competition turn war from an exceptional condition into a permanent instrument of the system. Countries like Venezuela, rich in energy resources, geopolitically strategic, and not fully brought under imperialist control, are therefore directly targeted.
Imperialist aggression is not limited to external military intervention. It also aims at restructuring the state apparatus in semi-colonial or oppressed countries, subordinating political power to the interests of imperialist capital factions, and liquidating the historical gains of the and the people. The plundering of public assets, the transfer of strategic sectors to multinational monopolies, and the dismantling of planning and decision-making mechanisms are central components of this process. For this reason, imperialist attacks do not merely seek a change of government, but a comprehensive social and class reorganization.
As the Anti-Imperialist League, we clearly state that adopting an unconditional and firm stance against imperialist aggression does not exclude a critical assessment of the nature of the existing ruling power. The ruling clique led by Maduro has largely built its power and legitimacy on anti-U.S. rhetoric. The historical anger and hatred of the people toward imperialism have been transformed into political capital through this discourse. However, Maduro’s presentation of himself as “nationally independent” and “Bolivarian” is largely an illusion. This political line remains far from a consistent anti-imperialist perspective that aims at the economic, political, and military liberation of the oppressed nation and the working people from imperialism.
In the era of imperialism, the anti-imperialist struggle is not limited to opposing military occupation; it necessarily requires the overthrow of the imperialist-dependent system and its ruling classes. The so-called “Bolivarian independence” line extending from Chávez to Maduro has preserved existing relations of production (semi-colonial and semi-feudal relations), and all their foundations, proposing only limited adjustments in mechanisms of distribution between the big bourgeoisie and the landlords. Grounded in anti-U.S. positioning, this line has remained inconsistent as an anti-imperialist project and has relied on a pragmatic balance policy that seeks to benefit from rivalries among imperialist powers, opening the door to new forms of dependency and oppression on other imperialist forces such as China and Russia. In this sense, the current ruling regime neither possesses a genuinely popular character nor represents a coherent anti-imperialist line.
Nevertheless, regardless of the nature of the ruling regime, the fundamental issue in Venezuela today is imperialist aggression. U.S. imperialism has defined its contradictions with Venezuela as a threat to its imperialist interests and has moved toward a direct assault on the country’s political sovereignty. Imperialism seeks total hegemony and absolute subservience.
The anti-imperialist struggle is not limited to opposing external interventions. It must also target the internal class foundations of imperialism, bureaucratic capitalist structures, and their political representatives. Without the organized power of the people, without a genuine transformation of the state apparatus, lasting liberation is impossible. Imperialism must be dismantled not only from the outside, but also from within.
For this very reason, imperialism is not merely a system to be analyzed, but an urgent political enemy that must be confronted directly. Theoretical truths gain meaning only insofar as they are transformed into concrete political positions and an organized line of struggle. The aggression unfolding in Venezuela today demonstrates clearly that the anti-imperialist struggle is an urgent and non-deferrable task.
With this understanding, we declare as the Anti-imperialist League:
The United States must withdraw its hands from Venezuela.
All military attacks must cease immediately, and all foreign forces must withdraw from the country.
The Venezuelan people must be granted the right to freely determine their political and economic future.
No imperialist power must be allowed to establish domination over Latin America and the Caribbean.
These demands are not merely diplomatic appeals, but concrete pillars of the common struggle of the world’s peoples. For this reason, we call on the world working class, labor movements, youth, women, and all popular, revolutionary, and anti-imperialist forces to refuse silence. We call on them to take to the streets, to expose the imperialist war machine, and to build active, organized, and militant solidarity with the people of Venezuela.
Because without the destruction of imperialism, lasting peace is impossible. Without the transcendence of capitalism, imperialism cannot be abolished. Without a rupture with this system, genuine popular sovereignty cannot be achieved.
Let us organize the anger of the international proletariat against imperialist aggression.
The people of Venezuela are not alone.
The oppressed peoples and the international proletariat will win; the imperialists and their lackeys will lose.
Down with U.S. imperialism.
Down with imperialism and all forms of reaction.
Long live our anti-imperialist struggle.
Mobilize our forces to build the Anti-imperialist League.
COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF THE ANTI-IMPERIALIST LEAGUE
January 2026
