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THE US ATTACKS VENEZUELA AND SEIZES IT PRESIDENT  
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Vijay Prashad – Taroa Zúñiga Silva
January 3, 2026
CounterPunch
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_ Trump will get his ovation at the US Congress, but the price for
that has already been paid by hundreds of dead civilians in Venezuela
and millions more who are struggling to survive the long-term hybrid
war imposed by the United States on Venezuela. _

Airstrikes on Caracas, screengrab from video posted to X.,

 

A little after 2am, Venezuela time, on 3 January 2026, in violation of
Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, the United States began an
attack on several sites in the country, including Caracas, the
capital. Residents awoke to loud noises and flashes, as well as large
helicopters in the sky. Videos began to appear on social media, but
without much context. Confusion and rumor flooded social media.

Within an hour, the sky was quiet. US President Donald Trump announced
that his forces had conducted attacks on Venezuela and had seized
President Nicolas Maduro Moro and his wife Cilia Flores. A short while
later, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriquez confirmed that the
whereabouts of Maduro and Flores are unknown. The US Attorney General
Pamela Bondi confirmed that Maduro and Flores were in the United
States and had been charged with ‘Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy’.

The outcome of this attack on Venezuela is unclear. The government
remains in control, even with the President having been kidnapped and
with the people of Venezuela in shock but defiant; it is unclear if
the United States will strike again, or if the US government has a
clear political plan for the aftermath of this strike.

THE WAR AGAINST VENEZUELA

The attack on 3 January is not the first against Venezuela. In fact,
the pressure campaign began in 2001 when the government of Hugo
Chávez enacted a Hydrocarbons Law in accordance with the sovereignty
provisions in the Bolivarian Constitution of 1999. That campaign had
the following aspects (this is an illustrative and not a comprehensive
list):

+ (2001) US funding of anti-Bolivarian social and political groups
through the National Endowment for Democracy and USAID.

+ (2002) US role in the attempted _coup d’état_.

+ (2002) Creation by USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives of a
Venezuela program.

+ (2003-2004) Funding and political direction for the work of Súmate
(led by Maria Corina Machado) to recall Chávez by referendum.

+ (2004) Development of a 5-Point Strategy to ‘penetrate’
Chávez’s base, ‘divide’ Chavismo, ‘isolate’ Chávez, build
up groups such as Súmate, and ‘protect vital US business
interests’.

+ (2015) US President Barack Obama signs an executive order that
declares Venezuela to be an ‘extraordinary threat’, which is the
legal basis for the sanctions that follows.

+ (2017) Venezuela banned from access to US financial markets.

+ (2018) International banks and shipping companies pressured to
over-comply with illegal US sanctions, while Bank of England seized
the Venezuelan Central Bank gold reserves.

+ (2019) Create an ‘interim’ government by ‘appointing’ Juan
Guaidó as the US authorized president and organize a (failed)
uprising, and freeze Venezuela’s ability to sell oil as well as
seize its oil assets overseas.

+ (2020) Attempt to kidnap Maduro through Operation Gideon (and by
placing a bounty for his capture), while the US put a ‘maximum
pressure’ campaign on Venezuela during the pandemic (including
International Monetary Fund denial of Venezuela’s own reserves).

+ (2025) Gift of the Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado with
the Nobel Committee saying that Maduro should leave office.

+ (2025-2026) The attacks on small boats off the coast of Venezuela,
the positioning of an armada to form an embargo of Venezuela, and the
seizure of oil tankers from Venezuela.

The attack on 3 January is part of this war that began in 2001 and
will continue long after the engines of the Chinook helicopters cool
down.

THE EAGLE IS ANGRY

When the United States government decides to act unilaterally, whether
against Iraq in 2003 or Venezuela between 2001 and 2026, no other
force has been able to stop it currently. In 2003, millions of
people—including in the United States—marched on the streets to
demand no war, and most governments in the world cautioned against the
war, but the governments of George W. Bush and Tony Blair (of the
United Kingdom, acting as his no. 2) went ahead with their illegal
war. This time, major powers informed the United States that a war in
South America and the Caribbean would be immensely destabilizing: this
was the view of leaders who govern countries that neighbor Venezuela
(Brazil and Colombia) and major powers such as China (whose special
envoy—Qiu Xiaoqi—met with Maduro only hours before the US attack).
Not only could the world not stop the US in 2003, but it has also been
unable to stop the US between 2001 and now in its obsessive war for
oil against Venezuela.

The attack on Venezuela was timed so that Trump could stand before the
US houses of Congress on 4 January, when he will give his annual
address, and claim that he has scored a major victory. This is not a
victory. It is just another example of unilateralism that will not
improve the situation in the world. The US illegal war on Iraq ended
with the US forced to withdraw after a million civilians had been
killed in a ruthless decade; the same transpired in Afghanistan and
Libya—two countries ruined by the American Eagle.

It is impossible to imagine a different future for Venezuela if the
United States continues with its bombing and sends ground troops into
the country. No good comes from these ‘regime change wars’, and
none will come here either. There is a reason why Brazil and Colombia
are uneasy with this attack, because they know that the only outcome
will be long-term destabilization in the entire northern half of South
America, if not in the entire region of Latin America. This is
precisely what has transpired in the northern half of Africa
(Trump’s bombing of Nigeria is part of the detritus of the 2011 NATO
bombing of Libya).

Trump will get his standing ovation at the US Congress, but the price
for that has already been paid by hundreds of dead civilians in
Venezuela and millions more who are struggling to survive the
long-term hybrid war imposed by the United States on Venezuela for the
past two decades.

_This article was produced by__ Globetrotter_
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_Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, and journalist. He is a
writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an
editor of __LeftWord Books_ [[link removed]]_ and the
director of __Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research_
[[link removed]]_._

_Taroa Zúñiga Silva is a writing fellow and the Spanish media
coordinator for Globetrotter. She is the co-editor with Giordana
García Sojo of __Venezuela, Vórtice de la Guerra del Siglo XXI_
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(2020). She is a member of the coordinating committee of __Argos:
International Observatory on Migration and Human Rights_
[[link removed]]_ and is a member of the __Mecha
Cooperativa_ [[link removed]]_, a project of the __Ejército
Comunicacional de Liberación_ [[link removed]]_._

 

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* Venezuela
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* Nicolas Maduro
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* U.S. imperialism
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* Latin America
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