Photo: Mass mobilization in support of President Nicolás Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution on January 9. Credit — ALBA Venezuela
The Party for Socialism and Liberation condemns the ongoing U.S. campaign to undermine Venezuela’s democracy and independence. Like clockwork, in the week leading up to the swearing-in of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. officials and media outlets have reactivated their campaign of demonization and delegitimization against the sovereign institutions and people of Venezuela.
This latest campaign is yet another page in a long history of U.S. attempts to subvert Venezuela’s people-driven democracy. Since last year, the U.S. government made clear that it would only recognize the results of the July 28 presidential elections if far-right opposition candidate Edmundo González won. When the Bolivarian Revolution once again triumphed at the polls, the Biden administration immediately began to question the integrity of Venezuela’s institutions and back the baseless claims of the opposition that its candidate Edmundo González had achieved a landslide victory against Nicolás Maduro.
In November, with just two months left in office, the Biden administration announced that it recognized González as the president-elect of Venezuela. Just days ago, Biden received González in the White House and said in a public statement that González is “who should be taking the oath of office in four days.”
It is not up to Biden to decide who should be president of Venezuela. The Venezuelan people have made their decision. What the Venezuelan people deserve (and have repeatedly demanded) is an end to the suffocating regime of U.S. sanctions against its economy which has devastated the country’s economy and inhibited the ability to acquire crucial goods for the people, causing large numbers of people to leave the country.
Meanwhile, in the past several weeks, Venezuelan authorities have captured dozens of foreign mercenaries, including several allegedly with links to U.S. intelligence and military institutions. These mercenaries had plans to carry out terrorist attacks in an effort to sabotage the January 10 swearing-in and undermine the rule of law in the country. If this were to happen in almost any other country, it would be an international scandal and the U.S. government would issue firm statements condemning these acts. But since Venezuela is an opponent of Washington and Wall Street and refuses to sacrifice its sovereignty to U.S. corporate interests, such acts occur without mention.
In the face of these attacks, we once again express our firm commitment to stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela and to fight for an end to U.S. meddling in its sovereign affairs. The Venezuelan people deserve to live free from sanctions, free from threats to their independence, and in peace.
