In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 3, the United States launched a military operation inside Venezuelan territory, escalating its long-standing campaign of aggression against the Venezuelan people and their government. This attack was insidiously framed as a response to so-called “narco-terrorism,” as a pretext to justify recent military operations in the region.

This act of war was carried out unilaterally by U.S. President Donald J. Trump without the prior authorization of the U.S. Congress, further exposing the fiction of U.S. democracy and its so-called system of checks and balances. The reality is that the U.S. executive branch exercises unchecked power when it comes to enforcing domination, and violence against nations it deems expendable.

As Chairman Omali Yeshitela has correctly stated, the colonizer makes and justifies its own rules. Slavery in the Americas was once legal, and Africans who escaped enslavement were criminalized for breaking the law. Today, the same colonial logic is at work. The U.S. invents legal justifications to rationalize kidnapping, invasion, and regime-change operations against sovereign nations.

This attack represents a dangerous escalation of U.S. imperialism and a blatant enforcement of colonial rule in the Western Hemisphere. On one hand, the U.S. presents President Maduro as the head of a criminal enterprise, a claim unsupported by credible evidence; on the other, U.S. President Donald Trump, openly revealed the real objective during the press conference that followed, the reassertion of U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil resources and the enrichment of U.S. oil interests.

The truth became even clearer when Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued veiled threats against Colombia and Cuba, exposing the broader scope of this aggression. This was never about narcotics or law enforcement. It is about punishing governments that refuse to submit to U.S. domination and that are actively working to free themselves from political, economic, and military subservience.

The audacity of the U.S. arresting a sitting president of a sovereign nation and attempting to subject him to U.S. courts demonstrates complete contempt for international law, national sovereignty, and the will of the Venezuelan people. The United States does not respect its own laws, nor does it respect the sovereignty of any nation, ally or adversary, when imperial interests are at stake.

That the U.S. was able to carry out a military operation in a region surrounded by sovereign nations—within one of the world’s most politically diverse regions, bound together by a shared history of colonialism and resistance—should alarm people everywhere. If international law truly mattered, neighboring countries would be well within their rights to defend Venezuela’s sovereignty. Instead, we have seen warm condemnations from some and open support from others, reflecting the depth of U.S. coercion and influence in the region.

While the full details of this attack may not yet be known, ANWO is clear about its character. The history of U.S. imperialism, combined with our own lived experience as African people subjected to domestic colonialism within the United States, leaves no doubt that this attack was calculated, surreptitious and driven by colonial-mode-of-production.

ANWO stands in unwavering solidarity with the people of Venezuela and with all nations resisting U.S. imperialism. We call on African people and oppressed peoples everywhere to recognize this attack for what it is and to strengthen international resistance to colonial domination in all its forms.

Forward Ever! Backward Never! 

¡Siempre Adelante!

Assata’s life was defined by courage. She was not only a symbol of resistance but an uncompromising African woman who dared to live free. Faced with the full force of U.S. state violence — its prisons, police, and propaganda — Assata refused submission. She broke through the chains of colonial captivity and built a new life in Cuba, where she continued her commitment to the struggle for African liberation.

In 1973, Assata was falsely accused and later convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper, charges she always maintained were lies of the U.S. government. Despite the absence of credible evidence and medical testimony proving she could not have fired a weapon, she was sentenced to life in prison. It was under these conditions of colonial injustice that Assata escaped captivity in 1979 and went into exile in Cuba, where she lived for more than four decades.

For her defiance, the U.S. branded her a “terrorist” and placed her at the top of its most wanted lists. Under Barack Obama’s administration, her bounty was doubled to $2 million in an attempt to capture and silence her. Yet despite decades of pursuit, Assata remained unbroken and untouchable.

Assata Shakur stands as an example for us all, especially for African women. Her clarity, her determination, and her refusal to bow to U.S. imperialism make her worthy of emulation. Her story reminds us that freedom is not granted,  it is seized through struggle.

We also extend our gratitude to the Cuban people and their revolutionary government, who defended Assata’s freedom for more than four decades. By providing her refuge, dignity, and solidarity, they showed the world what true internationalism looks like. Their protection ensured that Assata triumphed over the U.S. government’s attempts to silence her. In her victory, we all won.

Assata reminded us: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win.” As ANWO, we commit ourselves to this duty, to fight without compromise, to win liberation for African women, and to continue the struggle until African people everywhere are free and united.

May Assata Shakur rest in power.

Long live her legacy. Long live African women’s resistance.

Hands off Cuba!