First Venezuela, then Greenland, Britain and its working class could be next

A vassal state will fare no better than a subjugated one – By John Maxted

Brighton Venezuela and Cuba Solidarity with their flags at the Brighton Clock Tower. Organised by a coalition of local groups in response to US’s illegal kidnap of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro and his wife this week – Image: RedManHove on Instagram.

The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC) formally founded its Brighton branch on the 6th of December, with proceedings being directly overseen by VSC’s national secretary, Francisco Dominguez, as well as Venezuela’s ambassador to the UK, Felix Plasencia. The establishment of a VSC branch in our city has proven to be timely, with the United States now shocking the world with its assault on Venezuela’s national sovereignty. Without warning, the US has stormed Caracas and illegally kidnapped its elected president, Nicolás Maduro, all the while offering only the flimsiest of pretexts for gross violations of international law.

The Trump administration has neglected to even try and hide its true objective; control of the vast reserves of oil situated beneath Venezuela’s Orinoco delta. This resource, the largest known source in the world, has been covetously desired by international oil corporations for decades, ever since Venezuela took back control and nationalised its assets in the late 1990s.

A map showing the Orinoco Delta oil reserves. First nationalised by the Venezuelan government on 1st January 1976, they have been long coveted by US oil companies and the US government – photo Wikimedia, Creative Commons.

As an essential component of the Bolivarian revolution, Oil barons have since watched on in dismay while successive Chavista governments have invested their oil wealth into various social programs aimed at uplifting the very poorest in an already deprived country. Addressing a supplicant press conference following the seizure of Maduro, Donald Trump could barely contain his delight as he openly declared that the United States would now “administer” Venezuela, sweeping its sovereignty and self-determination aside so that US oil giants can once again claim the wealth under Venezuela’s soil.

Subsequent remarks made by Trump to the press suggest wider plans to conduct similar smash and grab military action against other countries in the region, including Colombia, Mexico, and the island nation of Cuba, which has suffered under a savage economic siege by Washington for decades. All these threats demonstrate the United States is recommitting itself to a colonial policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is thus bent on destroying any government that is free from their control.

“With European nations already coming under pressure, it is only a matter of time until both Britain and its working class are also run roughshod in the name of US interests“

Hot off the heels of its snatch and grab operation against Maduro, the US has now even cast its eyes towards Greenland, threatening to forcefully annex the autonomous territory of Denmark, a close European ally. This latest transgression from the US underlines the need to oppose American imperialism and show solidarity with Venezuela – if the international community fails to hold Trump’s government to account when it violates a country’s sovereignty, then it will only continue to bully and exploit other states, one after another.

With European nations already coming under pressure, it is only a matter of time until both Britain and its working class are also run roughshod in the name of US interests – with the likely connivance of our own ruling class. Failure to stand up now will jeopardise our already beleaguered working class with further assaults on our rights, conditions and sovereignty.

Venezuela’s ambassador to the UIK Felix Plasenica addresses the inaugural meeting of the Brighton Venezuela Solidarity Campaign – photo @VSCBrighton.

Addressing this issue, Brighton & Hove’s branch of the VSC is dedicated to marshalling all popular forces in our city in order to stand up for international law, to oppose our government’s partnership with the US’ sanctions regime, to defend the self-determination of the Venezuelan people, and through it, defend our own country’s self-determination as well.

To that end, we are lobbying all our local elected representatives to demand the immediate and unconditional safe release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Celia Flores, the cessation of US military attacks on Venezuela, including acts of interdiction and piracy against their oil tankers, and the withdrawal of the US war fleet from its shores.

We also demand that Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately condemn the Trump regime for its illegal actions and put an end to Britain’s role as an enabler and accomplice of US imperialism, which drags us towards a global conflict that can only lead to the common ruin of the international community.

The Brighton branch of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign. Including: Working Secretary John Maxted (centre), National Secretary of the VSC (right) and Venezuela’s Ambassador to the UK Felix Plasenica (second from right) – photo: @VSCBrighton.

The VSC has published an emergency statement against the war in Venezuela, which has already received the support and endorsement of over 40 parliamentarians including Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana and Sian Berry, as well as the general secretaries of 9 trade unions including the RMT’s Eddie Dempsey, the NEU’s Daniel Kebede and Gawain Little of the GFTU.

We will continue to build support for this statement, as well as an early day motion in parliament tabled by Richard Burgon MP, which would call on the government to oppose any further US military intervention in the Caribbean. Alongside this, we will continue to organise all concerned peoples in our community, in a united effort to build a strong and assertive movement towards peace and friendship between nations.

Jon Maxted

VSC Brighton Working Secretary