The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) stands with the international and Filipino labor movement in condemning US President Donald Trump’s ongoing regime change operation in Venezuela. The US, the world’s biggest superpower, has launched a military aggression, and the workers and peoples of the Philippines and the world should act now to resist its moves.

On January 3, the US launched air strikes in Venezuela, kidnapped Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and flew them to New York, announced that it will assume the leadership of Venezuela until an acceptable transition is successfully undertaken, and said that US oil corporations are moving into the country.

Immediately, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) voiced their “absolute and unequivocal rejection of the military operation.” They condemned the military intervention, called for respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and self-determination, demanded “human guarantees” – that is, “proof of life, respect for physical integrity, and the release” of Maduro and Flores – and called for peace and dialogue.

We support the statements made by the ITUC and TUCA. Indeed, the actions of the US under the Trump administration violate nothing less than the United Nations Charter and fundamental principles of international law. The US has clearly committed a crime of aggression. No country has the right to use military force against another country and violate another country’s sovereignty. The US is not acting in self-defense, and no UN resolution warrants its actions.

We express our concern for the more than 40 Venezuelans who have been killed by the US air strikes, and for Venezuelan workers who now face the threat of exploitation by greedy US oil corporations and the threat of US colonization. At the same time, we underscore that this is not just an issue of Venezuelan workers. Workers’ labor and human rights are not safe when the world’s biggest superpower can violate fundamental principles and rules that support international agreements on labor and human rights.

Some analysts are concerned that the US military aggression in Venezuela will embolden other superpowers to violate the UN Charter and international law. Some have compared the US’ actions to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have expressed worries that it may justify China’s invasion of Taiwan. This is another addition to the US’ imperialist crimes, following its support for Israel’s genocidal attacks on Palestine.

The ruling elites of many countries may likewise be emboldened to discard fundamental principles and rules to advance their interests to the detriment of workers’ labor and human rights.

The US military aggression in Venezuela has wide-ranging negative implications for the workers and peoples of the Philippines and the world. We urge the Philippine government, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to strongly condemn US military aggression in Venezuela despite its unflinching loyalty to the US. We urge the workers and peoples of the world, and all social movements, parties and governments to resist the US military aggression.