Joint statement from WILPF US’s DISARM/End Wars and Cuba and Bolivarian Alliance Issue Committees

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom US section condemns the US’s imperialist attack on Venezuela, loss of life in that country and the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Adela Flores.

The U.S. criminal bombardment of Caracas and other cities in Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro under the fabricated pretext of “narco-terrorism” is a blatant violation of Venezuela’s national sovereignty and independence.

The United Nations Charter makes it a crime to threaten war and a crime to wage war except in defense or by UN authorization, neither of which is the case here. This attack on Venezuela is about its enormous oil reserves which are publicly owned and the US government’s desire to secure these resources and their profits for a few privileged hands. This attack was not about drugs, safety, or democracy. Venezuela is not a major supplier of drugs to the United States. This is also about an authoritarian leader starting a war to distract the public from his failures at home. 

In less than a year in office, Trump has ordered the US military to attack seven countries without any authorization from Congress– Somalia, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela, and is threatening to attack other countries. In a press conference on January 3^rd, President Trump said: “…we are going to run the country, until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” No one voted for this, nor has Congress authorized it on behalf of the American people.

We stand with the people of Venezuela and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in their right to protect their proclaimed Zone of Peace. The US actions are grave violations of international law and the US Constitution.

The threats issued against other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico, are similarly illegal and corrupt expressions of imperialist military and economic aggression. Such deliberate violations of sovereignty and the illegal use of force imperil the peace and stability of the whole region and the world.

We demand that the US end this illegal aggression, safely return President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Adela Flores (also a respected politician) to Venezuela, and respect the right of the Venezuelan people to govern their own sovereign country.

We call on all WILPF US members to:

• Call the US Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative’s phones.
• Demand that your representatives in Congress support the two active War Powers Resolutions to stop unauthorized U.S. military action against Venezuela, one led by Rep. Ilhan Omar in the House, and one led by Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Rand Paul in the Senate. Both are procedurally positioned to move forward, and both require immediate public pressure to force a vote.
• Join any demonstrations in your hometowns against this outrageous military attack on Venezuela.

We urge all people in the US and around the world to show unity in demanding peace and self-determination for the Venezuelan people.

Download a PDF of this statement.