Black Solidarity with Venezuela

Recent U.S. military provocations of war in South America have once again placed Black and working-class interests at home in opposition to imperialism. The Trump regime and previous US administrations for their part, have labeled the Maduro regime despotic, anti-democratic, and guilty of working with the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua to wage a small-scale war on American soil. But closer inspection reveals a goal once held by former president George W. Bush for Venezuela – regime change. Such a call would have definite negative reverberations for black and brown people in Venezuela, the Caribbean, and in the U.S. as well as the wider working class. This, of course, calls for solidarity around the Diaspora in support of Venezuela – including from our brothers and sisters who serve in the US armed forces.

Black and Venezuelan ties go back to Venezuela’s independence movement when soldiers from Haiti, the Western hemisphere’s first free republic, sailed South to take up arms, aiding Simon Bolivar and Venezuelans in their quest for liberation. This action was not forgotten as the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would offer low cost oil to Haiti following its devastating earthquake in 2010. Chavez would also supply low cost heating oil to communities in the Bronx and Boston. The program eventually expanded to aid poor families, homeless shelters and Native American villages in 25 states across the U.S. Venezuela has used its deep deposits of oil to provide low cost fuel to Caribbean and Latin American partners for decades. That move of course lowers fuel prices for receiving countries, while also lowering the cost of living for their citizens. It is worth noting that Venezuela was also there after Black people were left for dead by the US government, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

After Hurricane Melissa’s destruction in countries like Cuba and Jamaica, Venezuela was once again there to provide support in the form of 46 tons of aid.

After coming to power in 1999, Chavez and later current President Nicolás Maduro improved the lives of Black and Indigenous people within Venezuela — increasing their access to economic, social, and political rights. Prior to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, broad social spending from the Party was responsible for lifting many black and brown people out of poverty and expanding literacy to millions.

As we look at the present, it is important to consider the real implications of solidarity that Venezuela has had with working class people of the Americas. More than 60 Venezuelan civilians have been killed by the U.S. since September 2nd, 2025. We are now witnessing the largest U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis. On those ships are Black troops, many whose family origins are in the same Caribbean countries now being extorted for Washington’s interest. U.S. naval Admiral Alvin Holsey abruptly retired in the wake of the attacks. Holsey, a Black admiral, resigned after expressing concerns about targeting civilian or non-military vessels. Legal experts agree with Holsey, suggesting that simply characterizing drugs cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations d0es not give the administration any additional authority to use lethal force. Holsey should be a beacon for all servicemen- but especially black and brown ones.

As Malcolm X said,

When the black man was asleep, he was anyone’s tool, he was anyone’s watchdog, he was anyone’s houndog, hunting dog, but today the black man in America is beginning to think for himself. As he begins to think for himself, he begins to ask himself what he is fighting for. And what has he gotten out of all of the fighting that he has already done. And as the black man begins to ask himself this question then you will find that many of them begin to wonder what do we have to fight for.

As previously stated, the United States has labeled the Maduro regime despotic, anti-democratic, and guilty of working with the Venezuelan criminal organization. But what is the reality back at home for American troops? Trump’s administration withheld SNAP benefits from working-class Americans as a bargaining chip in a political negotiation. Americans do not have the broad social spending of Venezuela to alleviate poverty, with the result being record inequality and a new record in household debt of $18.59 trillion as Americans struggle with the rising cost of living. In addition, U.S. urban populations have found themselves the target of a war within, with troops and secret police (ICE), being unleashed for political purposes. Images of black and brown Americans being zip tied and kidnapped have angered many, calling for answers to these actions which stand at odds to democracy. I am sure that many of the black and brown servicemembers on these ships inside the Caribbean have considered the words of Malcolm X:

Black people in this country have fought to defend America ever since America has been America, and black people in this country still don’t have the freedom, the justice, and equality that they thought that they were fighting for when they were fighting to defend America.

We are calling for solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the ruling party, the United Socialist Party (PSUV). They have shown their commitment to the working class here in the Americas’ and in their dire times, we must do the same for them. To our servicemen faced with following orders in order to feed their families, we understand the contradiction. We all face these challenges to survive the capitalist system. We do ask however that you read more about Venezuela, and its commitment to improving the lives of the poor here in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Consider the implications of losing one of the few allies that the poor have – in a world full of billionaires eager to replace labor with automation, and who have no care about with the large number of U.S. troops invading our communities.

To the people of New York, we ask that you stay tuned for more information regarding how you can get involved with the solidarity movement.