HANDS OFF VENEZUELA:

NO WAR WITHOUT A DECLARATION,

NO DEATHS BY SANCTIONS

For decades, Washington has waged a quiet war on Venezuela—one fought not with declared armies but with blockades, sanctions, and threats. Through economic coercion and military intimidation, the United States has punished an entire population while avoiding the accountability that comes with a formal declaration of war. In 2025, that undeclared war continues. The Trump administration has revoked Chevron’s license to export Venezuelan oil, ordered companies to wind down shipments, and reimposed sweeping sanctions that strangle Venezuela’s primary source of income. It has also recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as “president-elect” after a disputed election, effectively interfering in Venezuela’s internal politics. At the same time, U.S. warships now patrol off Venezuela’s coast under the banner of anti-narcotics operations—a display of force that heightens regional tensions and edges closer to direct confrontation.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organization known as the “Cartel de los Soles,” alleging that Venezuelan officials used naval vessels to transport cocaine and even killed couriers who went rogue. The Venezuelan government has dismissed these charges as politically motivated fabrications, and experts note that Venezuela is not a cocaine-producing country. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has never listed Venezuela as a primary source of cocaine, and analysts such as the Council on Hemispheric Affairs argue that the “narco-state” narrative serves primarily to justify U.S. intervention. By framing Venezuela’s leadership as criminal rather than political, Washington sidesteps diplomacy, normalizes coercive measures, and manufactures public consent for an undeclared war.

The United States Constitution gives Congress—not the president—the authority to declare war. Yet successive administrations have blurred this line, launching military, economic, and covert actions that devastate nations without ever naming them as wars. When warships blockade a sovereign state and sanctions destroy its hospitals and food systems, the line between policy and warfare vanishes. If the United States truly claims to uphold democracy and international law, it must honor the principle that there can be no war without a declaration of war. Anything else is undeclared warfare—illegal, immoral, and profoundly undemocratic.

Meanwhile, the human cost of sanctions continues to mount. A 2025 study published in The Lancet Global Health found that unilateral sanctions worldwide are associated with roughly 564,000 excess deaths per year, half of them children under five—a toll comparable to that of major armed conflicts. In Venezuela, hospitals report severe shortages of insulin, antibiotics, and surgical supplies. Humanitarian organizations struggle to transfer funds or import materials due to banking restrictions and fear of violating U.S. sanctions. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Sanctions has described these measures as “devastating,” warning that they violate international human-rights norms and punish entire populations for political leverage. Economic warfare may be less visible than missiles, but its victims are just as real.

No nation should have to endure a siege under another’s command. Sanctions that starve civilians are not diplomacy—they are acts of war by other means. The deployment of warships and the imposition of economic blockades without congressional authorization defies both U.S. and international law. A just policy toward Venezuela must begin with lifting broad sanctions, withdrawing military forces, and engaging in genuine diplomacy rooted in respect for sovereignty. If the United States truly values human rights and democracy, it must stop violating them. No war without a declaration. No more deaths by sanctions. Hands off Venezuela.

All the U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats (PBS, 11-4-25)

Venezuela’s Oil, US-led Regime Change, and America’s Gangster Politics (Common Dreams, 11-4-25)

Venezuela's Maduro says US 'fabricating war' as it deploys world's largest warship (BBC, 10-25-25)

Effects of international sanctions on age-specific mortality: a cross-national panel data analysis (The Lancet, 8-25)

US orders wind down of Chevron's oil exports from Venezuela (Reuters, 3-4-25)

US recognizes Venezuela’s opposition candidate as president-elect months after the disputed election (AP News, 11-19-24)