US Imperial Attack on Venezuela: A Warning for Africa
The violent abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces on January 3, 2026, represents more than just another imperial conquest. It stands as a stark warning to every African nation that dares to chart an independent path free from Western colonial control.
This unprovoked military assault, which culminated in Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores being dragged before a New York court like common criminals, exposes the brutal reality of American imperialism. Trump's brazen declaration that the US would seize Venezuela's oil reserves strips away any pretense about democracy or human rights. This was nothing less than a colonial resource grab, executed with the same ruthless efficiency that carved up Africa centuries ago.
The Colonial Playbook Reborn
The attack on Venezuela follows a familiar pattern that African nations know all too well. Economic warfare through sanctions, financial blockades, and support for puppet opposition groups. When these tools of neocolonial control fail, the imperial powers resort to naked military force.
Venezuela's crime was pursuing Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution, a model of social inclusion and state control over key industries that prioritized the people over corporate profits. Sound familiar? It should. This is the same revolutionary spirit that drove our own liberation movements, the same commitment to economic independence that threatens Western hegemony.
The coordinated campaign against Venezuela, spanning years of crippling sanctions and diplomatic isolation, mirrors the systematic undermining of progressive African governments. Yet despite this relentless pressure, the Venezuelan people's resistance only grew stronger, proving that imperial coercion often backfires by strengthening national unity.
A Warning Shot to the Global South
The spectacle of Maduro in chains before American judges while Trump pardons his own criminal allies like former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández reveals the selective nature of Western 'justice.' This humiliation ritual serves a clear purpose: to warn any Global South leader who dares defy Western diktat.
The international community's impotent response at the UN Security Council demonstrates the bankruptcy of institutions designed to maintain Western supremacy while offering token representation to the rest of the world. The Non-Aligned Movement's detailed arguments about Charter violations fell on deaf ears, confirming that international law only applies to those without nuclear weapons and military might.
This attack forms part of a broader pattern of American aggression: military strikes on Iran during negotiations, intervention in Nigeria while peace talks with Boko Haram were underway, and escalating provocations against China over Taiwan. Diplomacy has become merely a cover for military preparation.
Lessons for African Liberation
The devastation in Gaza, the assault on Venezuela, and threats against other independent nations are interconnected manifestations of the same imperial logic that once enslaved our continent. The pursuit of control over resources, labor, and strategic territory through force remains the core of Western foreign policy.
For African nations, Venezuela's fate serves as both warning and inspiration. Warning because any country that truly prioritizes its people over Western corporate interests faces potential destruction. Inspiration because Venezuelan resistance demonstrates that popular unity can withstand even the most sophisticated imperial pressure.
The question posed by analyst Dr Reneva Fourie resonates powerfully: after mourning Gaza's genocide and witnessing Venezuela's sovereignty shattered, which African nation will be next for defying US resource extraction or alliance demands?
Building Revolutionary Solidarity
The defense of Venezuela is inseparable from African liberation. We cannot afford symbolic solidarity while our brothers and sisters face imperial violence. The Global South must forge integrated defense arrangements, alternative financial systems immune to Western coercion, and shared development of productive capacities.
This requires moving beyond the neocolonial frameworks that still bind many African nations to their former colonizers. True independence means the courage to stand with Venezuela, Palestine, and all peoples fighting imperial domination, regardless of Western disapproval.
The choice facing Africa is clear: unite in revolutionary solidarity or face imperial aggression alone. Venezuela's courage in the face of overwhelming force shows the path forward. The question is whether African leadership has the revolutionary commitment to walk it.
As we witness this latest act of imperial barbarism, we must remember that our liberation struggles are interconnected. An attack on Venezuelan sovereignty is an attack on all who dare dream of genuine independence from Western control.