Address by the Chairman of the CC CPRF
From the first days of the new year 2026 President Trump cast aside the mask of
peacemaker and showed that his real aim is blackmail and global dominance.
Indeed, he turned out to be a more aggressive US leader than his predecessor Biden
whom Trump fiercely criticizes precisely for his foreign policy adventures.
After the attack on Venezuela and an unprecedented kidnaping of the country’s
president, Nicolas Maduro, Trump, flushed with the seeming ease of his “victory,”
declared the whole Latin America to be his property. He forbade the countries of
Europe and Asia to do any independent business on that continent. Simultaneously
he issued a warning that Mexico, Cuba and Columbia could become the next
victims of aggression.
Mr.Trump clearly does not intend to stop with Latin America. In Asia he has acted
as the chief accomplice of Israel’s attack on Iran. In Africa, he greenlighted US Air
Force strikes on Nigeria intervening in the long-running quarrel between the
Muslim cattle herders and Christian land farmers. In Europe, even loyal US allies
were stunned and panicked over Trump’s intention to grab Greenland from
Denmark. In all the wars over the past 75 years, beginning from the Korean war,
American hawks sought to enlist as many allies as possible. But Trump has come
to believe in his omnipotence so much that he does not merely spurn European aid
but treats Europeans with obvious contempt. Now, if Denmark puts its foot down
on the issue of Greenland, the world will no longer be surprised if its prime
minister is seized by the Delta group simultaneously with the bombing of
Copenhagen.
Today we are looking not at a violation of the norms of international law. We
witness a conscious and total destruction of the centuries-old system of
international relations. Trump is out to replace the universally accepted norms
agreed under the UN auspices with the right of the strong and the arrogant. It is a
challenge to the whole mankind.
Precedents exist in world history. In the early 19 th century Napoleon proclaimed
himself to be the master of Europe, and then of the whole world. In the mid-20 th
century the German Fuhrer, Hitler, after seizing Europe made a bid to rule all
continents. Now the 21 st century America has produced a new “lord of the world.”
The first two cases brought the pretenders to world dominance to a sticky end.
There is no reason why Trump, like his European predecessors, will not break his
neck in an attempt to subdue the whole world.
Donald Trump imagines himself to be a superman who can bring Latin America
back to the state of the US backyard in which it languished 200 years ago. He is
bent on depriving dozens of that continent’s countries of their freedom and
independence. But the peoples of Latin America have proved by numerous
victorious in battles against American imperialism their readiness and ability to
firmly uphold their interests. The death of Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967 did not
stop the revolutionary processes on the continent. Shining examples have been
given by the outstanding fighters against imperialism Fidel Castro and Hugo
Chavez. Time after time progressive forces come to power in the Latin America.
Brazil, the largest country on the continent, is led by the socialist president Lula da
Silva.
In the drama in Venezuela the decisive word will be said by its people and its
courageous legitimate government. In spite of the absurd statements that the
country will now be ruled by the US Secretary of State Rubio, Venezuela has
already declared that it would not bow to diktat. Threats from Washington are
unlikely to scare the people that cherishes its independence. A treacherous strike
involving 150 airspace attack assets and a thuggish raid on the presidential
residence is one thing. A land operation in the Venezuelan mountains and jungle is
another thing. The US military are nothing loath to attack a patently weak enemy
and then proclaim a historic victory. When they meet with tough resistance it
quickly becomes clear that they are not the best of fighters. We have seen it
recently in Afghanistan and Iraq.
As for Trumps accusations of Nicolas Maduro of drug trafficking, they are
astonishing in their cynicism and hypocrisy. The US, like no other country, has
contributed to drug addiction becoming a global evil. It was through its efforts that
in the 1960 and 70s, during the Vietnam War, production of opium in the Golden
Triangle saw unprecedented growth. It flourished at the convergence of the borders
of Thailand, Burma and Laos to finance secret CIA operations. After the
occupation of Afghanistan in 2001 the US was energetically restoring the
production of heroin there, ensuring the delivery of its supplies to Europe via its
bases in Albany.
In Latin America in its time the main producer of cocaine was anti-communist
Columbia. Many documents and journalistic investigations point to close links of
the US Drug Administration with the Columbian drug barons. The CIA used part
of the drug money to finance the operations to topple the left-wing government of
Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. The US itself is one of the world’s major producers of
marijuana. It ill-behooves the US to accuse Nicolas Maduro, the legitimate
president of Venezuela! On the contrary, the whole world should accuse
Washington of narcotization of humankind.
Trump’s thuggish attempt to blackmail the people of Venezuela by seizing its
president is doomed to fail. No court in the US has the right to try the head of a
sovereign state. What the Trump administration has committed is kidnaping of
people by a colluding group of criminals. The court should try not Maduro and his
wife, but the organizers and executors of this evil act, including Mr.Trump
himself.
To be sure, the White House, will, like a mad bulldog, hold Nicolas Maduro
hostage. But the people’s president of Venezuela has already become a symbol of
resistance to imperialism. Nelson Manadela in his time was a world symbol of
resistance to the apartheid regime in South Africa.
The CPRF considers Nicolas Maduro to be the number one political prisoner
on the planet. The hearts of honest and courageous people cannot be indifferent to
this. We appeal to all the patriotic and anti-fascist forces to struggle together for
the liberation of the president of Venezuela.
The imperialist circles are trying to launch a strategic offensive. To rein them in a
broad public movement should be mounted all over the world. We call on the
parties and associations, all the progressive forces to hold substantive
consultations and work out concrete measures to counteract reaction. The
working people and their organizations must make their voice heard in this
complex situation. United actions in defense of peace, security and justice are
particularly important today.
Trump’s problems do not end with the criminal kidnaping of Maduro and his wife
Cilia Flores. Rather, they are only beginning. The past years have seen major shifts
in the world balance of forces. Ther countries of BRICS and SCO, the states of the
Global South, of which Latin America is a key part, are increasingly assertive.
Russia’s miliary might and China’s economic muscle are capable of totally
devaluing Washington’s claims to world domination. We call on all the states on
the planet that cherish their sovereignty, to resolutely condemn Washington’s
actions.
Clearly, global capital is capable of launching any adventures. The international
situation is becoming more and more explosive. If it is to rise to the new
challenges and ensure popular unity Russia must alter its socio-economic and
socio-political course. That is why the CPRF’s Victory Program offers a path of
accelerated development of the country and achievement of social justice. Trump’s
frenetic attempts to hold back the progress of mankind on one particular continent,
and his piratic tricks at sea are doomed to tail. All the wars the US unleashed in
recent decades have ended in ignominious defeat. This time must be no different.
No to imperialist expansion!
Yes to cohesion in the struggle against aggression and international banditry!
G.A.Zyuganov,
Chairman of the CC CPRF,
Head of the CPRF faction at the State Duma