Since its founding in 1967, NACLA has worked to expose and oppose U.S. intervention in Latin America. In the face of lies and propaganda generated by the U.S. government, and a mainstream media often complicit in legitimizing U.S. actions, NACLA has sought to be a source of reliable information about the facts on the ground.
The Trump administration’s illegal and violent January 3 attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, is the latest chapter in a long history of U.S. imperial aggression in the region. The incursion involved the bombing of various targets in the middle of the night, some military and some not. The U.S. military killed as many as 100 people, including civilians and soldiers, 32 of them Cuban officers tasked with defending Maduro. It marked the first overt U.S. military strike against a South American country in modern history.
The operation came after months of missile attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and a sustained campaign of falsehoods about Venezuela’s role in supplying drugs to the United States, including Maduro’s supposed leadership of the “Cartel de Soles,” an alleged drug-trafficking ring that the Justice Department recently acknowledged no longer exists (and which was in fact in part a creation of the CIA). These actions represent only the latest breach of international law by the U.S. government, following years of devastating economic sanctions that crippled the Venezuelan economy, caused tens of thousands of deaths, and propelled a massive out-migration of refugees. Now, the Trump regime claims to have the right to seize Venezuelan oil and force acting president Delcy Rodríguez into submission or face renewed violence. With no pretense of defending democracy or respecting Venezuela’s right to self-determination, the administration has claimed the authority to govern Venezuela for years to come. This disregard for international law has gone hand in hand with the entrenchment of authoritarianism and an increasingly violent police state at home. In this dossier of articles and podcast episodes, NACLA offers several pieces to help readers understand the facts about Venezuela’s recent history, the rise and significance of the Chavista movement, the role of oil in shaping the country’s political economy, and evolving relations between the country and the United States. In particular, Alejandro Velasco’s 2022 essay, “The Many Faces of Chavismo,” provides essential context on the history of oil nationalization, challenging Trump administration claims about stolen assets and foreign entitlement. Drawing on NACLA’s network of journalists, scholars, and regional experts, we will continue to add material to this collection as events unfold. Our commitment remains the same: to document imperial violence, amplify critical analysis, and stand in solidarity with those resisting it.
Check out the NACLA Report open access collection on Venezuela here
Under the Shadows Podcast
The Project of Chavismo
Refounding the Republic: The Political Project of Chavismo
The Many Faces of Chavismo
Venezuela’s War of All People
Is Hugo Chávez to Blame for Venezuela’s Collapse?
U.S. Intervention in Venezuela: From Sanctions to Bombs
Crisis in Venezuela: The Remarkable Fall and Rise of Hugo Chávez
The United States’ Hand in Undermining Democracy in Venezuela
Washington Doubles Down on its Military Intervention Script in Venezuela
Washington Intensifies Its Collective Punishment of Venezuelans
U.S. Sends Troops to Southern Caribbean in New Threat to Venezuela
Venezuela: Between Trump’s “War” and Everyday Normality
The Opposition: Elections, Protests, and Diaspora
Regime Change “Made in the U.S.A.”
Magazuelans: How Venezuelan Americans Embraced Trump as Their Savior
Venezuela’s Opposition Shifts Strategy Ahead of Mega-elections
The Venezuelan Opposition’s Elusive Quest for Power
With Trump, Polarization Among Venezuelans Reaches New Heights
María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize: A Reading from the Left Opposition
The War on Venezuelans: Drugs, “Gangs,” and “Narcoterrorists”
Narco-terrorism Charges Against Maduro and the “Cartel of the Suns”
A History of Inconvenient Allies and Convenient Enemies
Tren de Aragua: A Gang, Not Terrorist Invaders
Trump’s War on Venezuelans: From Operation Aurora to Operation Southern Spear
Venezuela and the Region
Chávez in The Americas: Increasing Autonomy in Latin America and the Caribbean
ALBA-TCP: Building Solidarity and Autonomy Among Nations
Looking for the Left Turn
A Venezuelan Exodus?/¿Un éxodo venezolano?
Venezuela and the U.S. Left at a Crossroads
