CHENNAI: Left parties in Tamil Nadu on Sunday strongly condemned the United States for what they described as an illegal military and political assault on Venezuela, terming it a grave violation of sovereignty and international law.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores amounted to an imperialist act aimed at subjugating an independent nation. He alleged that the US had advanced false accusations, including claims of Venezuela being a drug hub, to justify intervention motivated by corporate oil interests and Venezuela’s socialist alignment with Cuba.
He warned that statements by former US President Donald Trump targeting other Latin American countries signalled an expansion of such aggression.
Echoing these views, the CPI State Secretary, M Veerapandian, said that Maduro, who followed the leftist policies of former President Hugo Chávez, enjoyed popular support after nationalising oil resources, forcing American companies to exit.
He accused the US of deploying warships near Venezuela, enforcing air restrictions and launching attacks on its capital to regain control over natural resources.
Left parties urged the United Nations to intervene immediately, ensure the safety of Maduro and his wife, and called on India and the international community to defend Venezuela’s democracy, sovereignty and right to self-determination.