Statement on U.S. Strikes in Venezuela

Will we choose a government that invests in healthcare, housing, schools, and the basic things Americans need to live, or will we continue enabling a rogue president who starts wars for oil and corporate profit?

WASHINGTON, DC— In response to the unconstitutional and illegal strikes on Venezuela Popular Democracy Executive Director DaMareo Cooper released the following statement:

Make no mistake: Trump’s assault on Venezuela is illegal and unconstitutional. Congress, not the President, has the power to go to war.

This was never about drugs. It was never about Maduro or protecting a country and its people from authoritarianism. Trump has spent the last year dehumanizing and deporting Venezuelans. In fact, just a few months ago, his administration terminated Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans. 

If Trump wanted to address the overdose crisis, he would not be slashing Medicaid and defunding drug treatment. If Trump cared about the freedom of the Venezuelan people, his administration would not have denied protected status to asylum seekers. If Trump wanted to make the world safer, he would not be using military force to hand another country to oil companies.

The U.S. has a long history of regime-change operations across Latin America designed to install governments that serve U.S. corporate interests. This is a continuation of that brutal history. 

The oligarch class who will profit from this use of military force is also driving cuts to essential services like healthcare and housing. We must understand these issues as interconnected.

We call for the immediate reinstatement of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans. We call on Congress to enact a War Powers Resolution to explicitly limit Trump’s ability to continue these aggressions. We call for Congress and the President to take meaningful action to address the affordability crisis at home, rather than sowing chaos with our tax dollars abroad.

Many organizations within our network have large Venezuelan communities as part of their memberships. We stand in solidarity with Venezuelans fighting for their democracy and affirm their dignity and their right to determine their own futures.