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We are going to comment on the American terrorist attack on Venezuela, which led to the murder of the security guards of the Venezuelan president and the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president and his wife by American terrorists. This entire situation is highly relevant to the broader crisis of American imperialism in several ways.
It now looks like Mr. Trump is planning a blockade against Venezuela, which is certain to kill and injure even more Venezuelan civilians than all the years of such actions, starting with George Bush.
It is no mystery that American imperialism is becoming increasingly out of control while also entering a state of relentless decline. It was defeated by the Taliban in 2021 after the United States spent $2 trillion in 20 years and deployed more troops in Afghanistan than the Russians did.
For over two years, Israel and the United States have launched a monstrous campaign against two million Palestinians. They have committed genocide and nearly every war crime in the book, yet they have failed to defeat the Palestinians. This is one of the most humiliating military failures in history. Meanwhile, many of the puppet regimes set up by the United States are in a complete state of collapse—look at Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and so on. Things clearly are not going well.
The kidnapping of Mr. Maduro was extremely revealing. The president of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, either did not care or forgot the usual talking points that American imperialism relies on to justify events like this. He did not talk about democracy; he talked about oil. He did not talk about democracy; he talked about the United States running Venezuela until the Venezuelan people were somehow “ready” to take the reins and run their country as well as America runs its own—a horrifying thought. Particularly striking was Mr. Trump’s repudiation of the NATO-inspired puppet government of María Corina Machado, who had even been awarded the Nobel Prize (a truly shameful event). Mr. Trump blurted out that it had no real support, so there was no point in backing it. These are all relevant developments.
Where this goes from here is a very good question. Mr. Maduro is likely to become a martyr for his people and for many others around the world.
One example that raises questions about Mr. Trump’s mental stability was his statement at his press conference claiming that the vice president of Venezuela had essentially agreed to surrender the country to the United States and that the U.S. would run it. This was a completely imaginary statement, and she promptly repudiated it. But think this through: this represents a very high level of delusion in the American president regarding an extremely important event. Are we to believe he was not properly briefed? He appeared extremely disoriented during the press conference and kept looking down at his notes.
Where all of this leads is highly uncertain. Mr. Trump has now put down a marker, and it will be very difficult for the United States to back away from this without attempting to topple the entire Venezuelan government. And what would that lead to? Probably nothing good—and it is not even clear that he will be able to do it.
What decent people around the world need to do is demand: Hands off Venezuela. We will discuss this further in future lectures, and we will be issuing a position paper on the matter.
Another relevant aspect of this situation is how many “respectable” people are willing to endorse a completely outrageous and irrational event. The overwhelming majority of the Republican leaders have cheered this situation on, and certain other U.S.-aligned regimes around the world—Ukraine, Argentina, and others—have also supported it. This is relevant because it shows that Mr. Trump is not an isolated phenomenon; there are widespread, morally bankrupt forces willing to endorse almost anything he does.
Looking ahead in 2026, it is important to remember that the United States government must borrow $12 trillion just to keep the lights on. There is a $2 trillion budget deficit, and an additional $10 trillion of debt must be rolled over, on top of numerous other problems the U.S. faces. This is a growing symptom of an empire in decline. Declining and sick empires can become very violent in their final days—and that is what we are witnessing here.
The world should recognize that something is deeply wrong. America is a very sick country—has been for a long time—but it is now becoming completely out of control. People outside America, and especially people inside America, need to call for an end to this Venezuelan escapade. Mr. Maduro should be returned to his country; the United States had no business arresting him.
And if the U.S. is upset about “fake elections,” it should consider all the puppet governments it has installed. If it is concerned about drug dealing, it should reflect on the vast drug trade run by the U.S.-backed regime in Afghanistan, which dominated the global heroin market. Apparently, that was considered acceptable.
We did not think it would be necessary to mention it, but surely nobody is so naïve as to believe that the terrorist attack on Mr. Maduro had anything to do with a concern for human rights. America and Israel, since 2023, have carried out what many describe as the greatest act of genocide since the Second World War in Gaza. Furthermore, America, since 2001, has spent $8 trillion on a whole series of wars around the world, killing over 4 million human beings and ruining the lives of many more.
Does anybody really think that George Bush’s attack on Iraq was not a war crime? Does anybody truly believe that? Could anyone really be that deluded?
In the case of Mr. Trump, he recently entertained at his home Mr. Netanyahu, who is facing indictment around the world for war crimes. If Mr. Trump were genuinely concerned about arresting war criminals or human rights violators, he certainly missed an opportunity with Mr. Netanyahu. Had he truly been committed to that goal, he would have promptly arrested Mr. Netanyahu, put him in an orange jumpsuit and chains, and sent him off to be tried as the war criminal many consider him to be.
So we obviously know that this whole situation had nothing to do with human rights. And overall, we should give credit where credit is due: Mr. Trump does deserve credit for not bothering to mention issues like that and instead concentrating on what he described as the real main goals of America—oil and imperialism. This was stated very clearly, and that part of what Mr. Trump said should be taken seriously. The situation should therefore be regarded in the terms that Mr. Trump himself outlined.
So: stay awake, stay alert, and do what you can to oppose further criminal acts against the people of Venezuela.