Protests erupted across India denouncing the US military aggression against Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. These protests reflected a growing international resistance against US imperialism and reaffirmed the historic commitment of the Indian Left to anti-imperialism, national sovereignty, and the right of peoples to determine their own destiny.
A joint protest demonstration was organised at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on January 4 by CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, CPI(M), AIFB, and other left and progressive organisations against Trump’s war on Venezuela. Addressing the protest, CPI(ML) Central Committee member Sucheta De said that what the world is witnessing in Venezuela, Palestine, Iran, and several other countries is a coordinated attempt by war criminal US President Donald Trump to impose a new colonial global order. This order seeks to subjugate peoples and nations that attempt to chart an independent future free from US imperialist diktats.
She said that just as the US spread lies about weapons of mass destruction to invade Iraq, loot its oil, and devastate its people, the same strategy is now being deployed in an even more naked form against Venezuela. Under the false pretext of “narco-terrorism”, the US aims to seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil resources and expand the monopoly of US multinational corporations over the country’s wealth.
She further stated that it was the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela that overthrew a US-backed oligarchy which had long exploited the country’s resources and its people. For decades, Venezuela has faced coups, covert operations, economic sanctions, and blockades imposed by the US. Today, Trump has resorted to open military aggression and bombing of civilian areas in a desperate attempt to recolonise the country. However, the people of Venezuela remain resolute and determined to defend their sovereignty, freedom, and revolutionary gains.
A ‘Hands Off Venezuela’ protest rally was organised by CPI(ML) in Kolkata near the US Centre on December 5, where hundreds of people marched condemning the US military bombing of Venezuela. Expressing steadfast solidarity with the people of Venezuela in defence of their sovereignty, peace, and freedom, protesters burned an effigy of Donald Trump. They also condemned the silence of the Modi government, which has failed to speak out against this illegal and criminal military aggression.
The protests noted that the Modi government’s silence reflects not only a bankrupt foreign policy but also its growing submission to US imperialist diktats. This surrender was earlier seen when the US handcuffed and chained Indian citizens and deported them in a brutal and inhuman manner. It was also evident when the US imposed tariffs and openly threatened India’s sovereignty and economic self-reliance.
In Patna, a protest near the Buddha Smriti Park on January 5 expressed strong solidarity with the people of Venezuela and highlighted that this attack represents yet another chapter in the long and bloody history of US intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean. This history is marked by election interference, overthrow of democratic governments, suppression of popular movements, widespread violence, and destruction.
They noted that this war is not just against Venezuela, but an open threat against every people in the region and across the world who strive to determine their own future free from imperialist dictates.
Speakers strongly condemned the kidnapping of an elected President and his spouse as an act of international piracy and a grave violation of international law, exposing the rogue and lawless character of US imperialism.
Protests were also held in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Odisha on January 5 by CPI(ML) Liberation and other left parties. In Karnataka, protests were organised on December 6 as part of a joint call by left parties against Trump and his imperialist plunder.
The protests across the country called for the expansion of nationwide and international actions against US aggression in Venezuela and across Latin America. In one voice, the protests exposed Trump’s global colonial project, which he describes as the “Donroe doctrine”, a crude rehash of the old Monroe Doctrine aimed at reasserting imperialist domination over the region.
