Progressive forces in KwaZulu-Natal will gather on Friday, 30 January 2026 at the United States Embassy in KwaZulu-Natal, 303 Dr Pixley Ka Seme Street (West Street), Durban to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing imperialist aggression by the United States government against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
This aggression has shocked the world, violated international law, and undermined the foundational principle of sovereign equality among nations. The forcible capture and detention of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores is not a lawful act of justice, but a brazen act of foreign military intervention driven by the United States’ long-standing agenda to dominate the Global South and seize control of strategic natural resources — particularly Venezuela’s oil.
In early January 2026, U.S. forces launched military strikes on Caracas and unlawfully removed President Maduro to the United States, falsely claiming jurisdiction over his prosecution. This act constitutes a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, which explicitly prohibits unilateral use of force and the invasion of sovereign states without UN Security Council authorisation.
We reject the dangerous fiction that this intervention is lawful or justified. No country has the right to invade another, abduct its democratically elected leadership, and impose its will through military might. Such actions threaten global peace, normalise aggression as foreign policy, and weaken the international order meant to protect all nations — big or small.
This imperialist aggression takes place while working and poor people in South Africa, Africa, and across the world continue to suffer under global capitalism, unemployment, inequality, poverty, and racialised exploitation. The struggle against imperialism abroad is inseparable from our struggle for economic justice, sovereignty, and dignity at home.
We stand in unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people and all progressive forces resisting imperialist domination. We demand:
* The immediate and unconditional release of President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores
– * An end to all foreign military intervention in Venezuela
– * Full respect for national sovereignty and international law
– * A world order based on peace, justice, and cooperation — not domination and force
– * A united struggle against capitalist systems that deepen inequality and exclude the majority
We further call on the United Nations to uphold its Charter with integrity and to represent the interests of all peoples, not only powerful states. Silence in the face of aggression is complicity.
We therefore call on trade unions, civic organisations, student formations, liberation movements, faith-based organisations, and community activists to mobilise, participate, and raise their voices in this important action.
This is not merely an international solidarity activity — it is part of a global struggle against imperialism, war, and systems that oppress working and poor people everywhere.
Media and the public are invited to attend and cover this action.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
Hands off Venezuela!
Down with imperialism!
Issued by COSATU KwaZulu Natal
Edwin Mkhize(Provincial Secretary)
082 399 7756 / 076 522 8839
edwin@cosatu.org.za
