In its maniacal playbook, very early this New Year, the United States launches a devastating imperial attack in Venezuela, declaring war and bombing the Latin nation, without being anyhow provoked.
Rather insanely, arbitrarily and in sheer disregard of international law, norm and order, the US makes the most outrageous move to abduct and kidnap the sitting and elected president of a sovereign country – Nicholas Maduro Moros, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and his wife, Cilia Flores.
This aggression is unfathomable. The January 03rd, 2026 bombing of Venezuela and taking hostage of its President and his wife, is unfortunately not a sole, isolated and distinguished event of its on. In his recent address to the United Nations Security Council, the renowned economist, scholar and global leader, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs highlights US’ unspeakable and anarchical major regime change operations to include the most notable and consequential: Iraq 2003, Honduras 2009, Libya 2011, Syria 2011, Ukraine 2014 and Venezuela from 2002 onwards. Currently, they have altogether threatened Greenland, Iran, Colombia, Cuba and holds the whole world hostage.
These particular unlawful actions cited and highlighted are just a small part of US imperialism. The list of similar bizarre invasions and US provocations is endless. In her book, Covert Regime Change: America’s Secret Cold War, Lindsey A. O’Rourke documents seventy (70) other historical regime change operations between 1947 and 1989.
Battle of ideas
Consistently, the mainstream media has dedicated its efforts towards “manufacturing consent” and shaping the public perspective to endorse the US narrative – under the disguise of democracy, peace and prosperity.
Media powerhouses have been lamely reporting about the unlawful US invasion by totally disregarding the principles of international law; vaguely justifying the one-sided war with dubious assertions and allegations of corruption, authoritarianism and mismanagement; and, loosely accounting on the war without offering a clear, historical and contextual analysis on US’ hostile relation and aggression towards Venezuela.
Popular and alternative media platforms have made it their mission to set the record straight and provide a rather honest narrative that exposes US propaganda and agenda, to what it exactly entails – Imperial Invasion!
In their limited capacity, they have been highly critiquing and dissecting the justifications of US’ invasion; citing and stressing that US’ continued disregard of the UN Charter and the international laws threatens peace, security and justice; and, they have taken a deliberate task and position to understand and expound on the reported economic and social crisis in Venezuela, exposing the underlying cause for Venezuela’s trials and tribulations to be highly attributed to by over two decades of brutal economic sabotage and suffocation.
Such counter voices and narratives have inspired debates, discussions and dialogues within the streets, homes and lecture halls. These initiatives have awakened the sleeping cells, particularly amongst the youths, from the comforts of ignorance. As curiosity, for actual, factual, honest and critical knowledge blooms within the society, definite terms such as sovereignty and imperialism have come to the fold and have been amplified and uplifted from the veil of taboos.
Unapologetically, the hegemonic narrative and ideas are now battled, in broad day light, with facts, style and eloquence, by both young and old men and women. The public conscience is on a significant rise, as we are witnessing a societal transformation – from being consumptive society of news and information, to becoming a confronting society that interrogates what it is being fed. This change of tide has become a thorn to imperial agenda. It is on this regard that, despite the intensified propaganda against Venezuela, about and over 70 percent of Americans do not approve the US’ invasion of Venezuela and the kidnaping of its President and his wife.
It is plain imperialism
In very simple words, this, what the US is doing, is not what Tee Ngugi, a Kenyan based political commentator, refers to as “The Ugly Return of Imperialism” or what is also regarded as the “Unmasking of US Imperialism”. Imperialism never left for it to return, neither was it masked for it to be unmasked, and nor was it clothed to now be considered naked. This is just an escalation of imperialism to great heights and with no sense of remorse. This imperial mood definitely confirms what the Tri-Continental Institute regards as Hyper-Imperialism!
Dr. Bilkrum Gill, in a podcast conversation at the Malcolm Effect, coins imperialism to mean the systematic denial of sovereignty to the peripheries, particularly through economic and military forms, by destruction of the social, political and economic organization and the ultimate restructuring of the resources, economies and societies to serve the imperial core.
US’ invasion of Venezuela qualifies this concept of imperialism. It has economically and militarily denied Venezuela’s sovereignty; it has deliberately devasted the country’s economic and social structures; and, it is now advocating for total restructuring: politically by pronouncing a new Venezuelan government in Washington; Economically by coercing the privatization and annexation of Venezuelan oil and its rich natural wealth to a few US handful oligarchies; and, socially by completely discarding the Bolivarian ideals and principles of communal correlation to amplifying a more material driven societal relations.
In further unpacking and determining whether the United States’ war in Venezuela is anyhow justified or disgraceful, and in substantiating that this is pure and outright imperialism; it is extremely necessary and important to analyze the actual charges opened against President Maduro and the media address of the US president. As for the charges, the Venezuelan President is charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Moreover, in his address to the journalist and the public, President Trump did not mince his words, as he, for over twenty times, explicitly mentioned that, similarly to the blatant drone strike on the same date and month, January 3rd 2020, which killed Iranian Military General and Leader – Qasem Soleiman, the US invasion in Venezuela was all about the oil. To substantiate his point, he recounted of the Monroe Doctrine, of which that provides the most clear depiction of US imperialism over the entire “western hemisphere”. Stressing on its imperial script, Stephen Miller, who serves as USA’s Deputy Chief of Staff, stressed that, the US shall only subscribe to the iron law – which speaks the language of strength, force and power.
Imperialism as an alternative
As much as the imperial agenda is being countered, the eloquently fed fetishism of imperial narrative is embraced and celebrated by a substantial number of people in Tanzania, East Africa and Africa. This mood and fascination about actions and imperial aspiration is highly associated with the people’s intensified and strong sense of anger, frustration and despair in their local, national and regional politics and economy. In such a mood and state of affair, desperation peaks and consolidates and logic withers.
In Uganda, exhausted by forty years of Museveni’s iron-clad rule, Ugandan youths have carried US flag during election rallies, signaling their desire for a US led regime coup in Uganda. Such a thought was even teasingly issued by the vibrant opposition candidate – ___ “Bobi Wine” in one of his campaign trails.
In Kenya, the former vice president of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua, desperate for spotlight, has pleaded to Donald Trump to raid Kenya over fraud allegations and so was he applauded by the church congregation. In Tanzania, the inefficient and tyrant nature of CCM’s recent regime has given birth to reactionary and resentment politics; and, as of recent, it has nevertheless paved for some sense and fascination over the imperial takeover as the only viable alternative and solution.
Even though, we, the people and the society, are overwhelmingly exhausted by being deeply embedded in the unbearable yoke of state, regional and global decay, facilitated by tyranny, injustice, corruption, embezzlement and violence; we are altogether bound to maintain our sobriety. Our anger and frustration against a failed state and the leadership shenanigans should not cloud our sense of reasoning that we totally detach ourselves from the concept of Sovereignty – the prime spirit, principle and script of international law, practice, norm and relations.
Sovereignty is non-negotiable
State sovereignty is a non-negotiable cardinal pillar for the international community and a civilized world. The ills and inconsistency of any government, if any, offers no room and reason for another government and external actors to invalidate its legitimacy and altogether take action to oust its leadership. Any such act of encroachment, interference and intervention is utterly disgraceful and ought not to be commended but rather condemned unanimously, by all strength, force and power.
Nevertheless, whether the dilapidating state of a nation tends to be self-inflicted like in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the likes or externally imposed like in Cuba and Venezuela, the ideal and rational action – particularly under the gist and principle of state sovereignty – ought to be undertaken and tasked upon the nationals of the respective nation.
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All acts of mingling and intervention from external sources – be it through military interventions, economic sabotage or political and social manipulation – are nothing but unlawful and disgraceful, as they abscond the pact of mutual respect and undermine the dignity of the nation and its nationals.
Imperialism is selfish not selfless
From the streets of Caracas – Venezuela, to the corridors of Tehran – Iran, and even in the Alps of Greenland and beyond; the United States has been strictly executing its imperial agenda. None of its external belligerent actions have any pure emancipatory affiliations for the sake of the local, national and global order and sustainability.
Democracy, corruption, government inefficiency, peace, security and all other, racial, religious and ethnic justifications, which altogether call for restructuring of the resources, economies and societies are simply fallacious, as they deflect us from the truth and reality, that such only tend to serve the imperial cause.
The imperial playbook does not seek to restore democracy. As long as the interests of “thy savior – the US” remain intact, they shall always remain unfazed by our politics and socio-economic shortcomings. This is particularly the case as the existing governments in our region continue to appease the US and embrace its imperial drive, and more so, as democracy remains not to be an honest agenda of the United States, we are thus destined to doomsday – if we continue to hope and wait in vain for the “big-brother” US to be our Messiah.
Evidently so, on the regional level, the US has renewed its economic benefits and ties with African countries for the next three years, through its unilateral AGOA pact which favors the US whilst dwindling our (African) economies. In Tanzania, amidst the fresh wounds of the October 29th 2025 electoral-related killings and despite the public outcry for the surge of authoritarianism and the collapse of democracy; we have nevertheless seen the two states – US and Tanzania – finalize a major investment agreements, of about USD 1 Trillion, for strategic projects on natural gas, nickel and graphite. The two nations have also furnished a mega partnership in major rare minerals research programme.
If history has not been our best teacher, then these recent dealings and developments ought to tell us something. The US is not so generous to be honorably concerned about our realities and miseries. The empire state of mind is selfish and not selfless in nature. Imperialism has never been, is not and shall never been the solution. Resilience and defiance primarily comes from within and not from without, this is what Steve Biko taught us –We are on our own. Aluta Continua!
The author of this article is Jasper “Kido” Sabuni, a Pan-Africanist, Internationalist and an author of a poetry book titled – Love Chronicles. He is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and can be reached through – kidojasper@gmail.com.
