Russia and China have both expressed their support for Venezuela as it confronts a US blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving the country announced by president Trump last week.
On Saturday, US naval forces seized a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela despite the fact that the vessel did not appear on the list of US-sanctioned vessels.
The first oil tanker was seized on 10 December while it is reported a third oil tanker is being hunted by US Coast Guard ships.
As well as seizing ships and the oil they are carrying, the US military have launched over 24 murderous attacks on small boats, that Trump accused, without bothering to provide a shred of evidence, of being drug traffickers.
Over 100 people have been killed so far in these attacks.
Speaking on Monday, Trump insisted that the US would keep or sell all the 4 million barrels of oil it had seized, and in response to a question about if the goal was to effect regime change by forcing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro out of office he said: ‘I think it’d be smart for him to do that’.
Since starting the attacks and the naval blockade, US imperialism has assembled the largest military deployment in the Caribbean Sea in decades, as it aims to overthrow the Venezuelan government and seize the oil reserves of the country – the largest in the world.
The tanker seized on Saturday was transporting crude oil to China, the largest importer of Venezuelan oil, massively escalating the conflict with China.
China condemned the seizure of tankers as a ‘serious violation of international law’, insisting: ‘Venezuela has the right to develop independently and engage in mutual cooperation with other nations.’
It is precisely the right to develop independent relations with China, Russia and the rest of the world that Trump is determined to crush, as US imperialism seeks to impose dictatorship over the entire South American continent.
The massive oil reserves of Venezuela, along with all the minerals, including those vital to the US technology industry, to be found throughout Latin America, are the prize that Trump and US capitalism are desperate to gain control of, through imperialist wars.
Apart from declaring war on Venezuela on Monday, Trump reasserted that the US was prepared to take over Greenland for its ‘national security’ and called for the self-governing Danish territory to become part of the US, citing its strategic importance and mineral resources as being vital for American capitalism.
Greenland, with its strategic position between Europe and North America, makes it a key site for US to place ballistic missiles aimed at Russia.
The mineral wealth of Greenland, and Latin America, has become a major driving force behind Trump’s military warfare, as US capitalism desperately attempts to reduce its reliance on China, as the worlds main exporter of essential minerals.
President Maduro hit back at Trump’s war drive against Venezuela saying that Trump ‘would be better off in his own country on economic and social issues, and he would be better off in the world if he took care of his country’s affairs.’
Trump is attempting to ‘take care’ of bankrupt US capitalism by waging war to reorder the world for the exploitation of the American capitalist class.
Trump’s war against Venezuela and pledges to take over Greenland are part of the wider war being planned against China and Russia.
The working class has the power to put an end to imperialist wars by organising it’s strength, in general strikes, to bring down the capitalist governments and bring in Workers Governments that will advance humanity, and go forward to building the World Socialist Republic.
This task requires the building up of the WRP and Young Socialists in Britain along with sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in the US, UK and Europe to provide the leadership required to organise the victory of the World Socialist Revolution to go forward to the World Socialist Republic!
