Global outrage as US threatens unprovoked war on Venezuela
NEW YORK – THE world, particularly across the Global South, has erupted in fierce condemnation of what many describe as an imperialistic and unprovoked United States drive toward war with Venezuela, a campaign critics say is motivated not by security concerns but by a naked desire to seize the country’s vast oil and gas reserves.
Governments, journalists, activists, and political leaders have denounced Washington’s posture as reckless warmongering that threatens regional and global stability.
Tensions escalated sharply after U.S. President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that Venezuela had been encircled by overwhelming American naval power.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the history of South America,” Trump wrote.
“It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us.”
He added bluntly, “They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there. They threw our companies out. And we want it back.”
Those remarks drew outrage worldwide. Veteran African journalist Hopewell Chin’ono condemned the threats as a brazen admission of imperial plunder.
“This is sickening, going to war in order to steal a country’s oil,” Chin’ono said.
He argued that Trump’s hostility toward Caracas was never about narcotics or security. “As I have argued for months, Donald Trump’s hostility towards Venezuela was never about drugs. It was always about oil that belongs to Venezuela,” he stated.
Chin’ono pointed to what he called a glaring contradiction. “You cannot claim to be fighting drugs while pardoning one of the most notorious drug-linked leaders in the region,” he said, referring to Trump’s pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández.
“Now Trump has dropped the pretence and is openly telling the truth. He wants Venezuela’s oil.” He added that the rhetoric “strips away every remaining illusion. This is not about law enforcement, democracy, or security. It is about plunder, entitlement, and an empire that believes the resources of other nations exist for its taking.”
Venezuelan leaders responded defiantly. President Nicolás Maduro declared, “Venezuela will never surrender its sovereignty or its natural wealth to foreign threats. Our oil belongs to the Venezuelan people, not to any empire.”
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López warned that the country’s armed forces were prepared to defend national territory.
“Any act of aggression will be met with firm resistance,” he said. “We seek peace, but we will defend our homeland.”
Opposition to war has also emerged within the United States. Veteran U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson said Trump was preparing to announce military action, a prospect that alarmed anti-war activists.
“Another war for oil will only bring death and instability,” said one U.S.-based peace organizer. “Working people pay the price while corporations profit.”
International voices echoed those concerns. Leaders from Africa, Latin America, and Asia warned that attacking Venezuela would violate international law and undermine global peace.
One Global South leader said, “Sovereignty is not optional. If Venezuela can be attacked for its resources, no nation is safe.”
Former Zimbabwean information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo noted the hypocrisy of Western rhetoric.
“Trump pretends to be making peace in Ukraine while ironically making war in Venezuela,” he said, adding that Western governments loudly defend sovereignty in Europe while remaining “hypocritically silent” on Venezuela.
Commentator Vusi Sillah suggested the escalation served domestic distractions, while activist Kels Swazikels asked, “For how long will the world just watch America ruin other nations over engineered false claims just so they can loot minerals and resources?” The growing chorus is clear: war on Venezuela is widely seen not as defense, but as theft, and the world is watching.
– CAJ News
