Attack on Venezuela Exposes United States Imperial Aggression and Disregard for Sovereignty
SDPI Demands Immediate Release of President Nicolás Maduro

The Social Democratic Party of India strongly condemns the United States military strikes on Venezuela and the extrajudicial capture of President Nicolás Maduro, which represent a brazen violation of international law and the sacred principle of national sovereignty enshrined in the United Nations Charter. As a nation committed to peace and self determination, India must not remain silent in the face of such aggression, which echoes the darkest chapters of colonial interference in the Global South.

This unilateral action, executed without congressional approval or UN mandate, disregards Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibiting the use of force against territorial integrity. Reports confirm over 150 US aircraft targeted military sites in Caracas, including the Miraflores Palace, resulting in civilian casualties, power outages, and widespread destruction. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has declared a national emergency, highlighting the human cost of what President Trump justifies as a response to alleged narcoterrorism, a pretext debunked by independent intelligence and reminiscent of fabricated rationales for past invasions like Iraq in 2003.

The strikes expose entrenched American imperialistic ambitions, particularly over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the world’s largest at 303 billion barrels, nationalized in 1976 to assert resource sovereignty. Decades of US sanctions have already devastated Venezuela’s economy, halving GDP and fueling hyperinflation, yet now the operation promises to “seize and sell” these assets for American firms like ExxonMobil, undermining the Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources principle affirmed by the UN General Assembly in 1962. Such economic predation threatens global stability, spiking oil prices by 5 percent and risking refugee crises along borders like Colombia’s, where 2.8 million Venezuelans already seek refuge. Venezuela has consistently and unequivocally opposed Israeli actions in Gaza and the unwavering support extended by the United States to those actions, a position that has further intensified political hostility between Caracas and Washington.

President Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly condemned Israel’s military operations in Gaza, particularly during the 2023 to 2025 war, describing them as collective punishment and acts amounting to genocide. He has openly supported international accountability efforts, including South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice. Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009 following the Gaza conflict and has since emerged as a vocal advocate for Palestinian self determination in international and multilateral forums. This principled stance, combined with Venezuela’s broader rejection of United States foreign policy in West Asia, has further strained already adversarial relations with Washington and reflects a broader pattern in which governments that challenge United States and Israeli policies are subjected to sustained political, economic, and military pressure

The SDPI calls on the Indian government to issue an unequivocal condemnation, demand Maduro’s immediate release, and convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council. India, as a founding Non Aligned Movement pillar, must champion the oppressed and reject the law of the jungle where might trumps right. Silence now would betray our anti imperialist legacy from Bandung to today. We stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and all nations resisting domination. Peace through justice, not bombs, is the only path forward.

Mohammad Shafi
National Vice President
Social Democratic Party of India