For the Immediate Release of Nicolás Maduro & Cilia Flores!

End the military attack & blockage of Venezuela

2 February 2026

The following statement was sent to the IBT by Magnolia Smith, a revolutionary socialist militant based in Los Angeles. We are pleased to make it available online as a politically clear expression of anti-imperialist opposition to the recent kidnapping and imprisonment of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores by US imperialism and the task facing the international working class in response. It has been lightly edited from the original.

Defend democratic rights—oppose US imperialist war and plunder—build independent working-class action!

The United States’ seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Adela Flores on 3 January 2026 is an act of imperialist aggression and lawless regime-change. No imperialist power has the right to kidnap, detain or repossess the leadership of a sovereign country. The working class everywhere must condemn this criminal action, demand the immediate release of Maduro and Flores and call for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and the end of the blockade.

Why is their immediate release required now?

• The US assault is an act of plunder and geopolitical conquest aimed at seizing Venezuela’s energy resources.
• The seizure establishes a dangerous precedent: if imperialist powers are permitted to abduct civilian leaders, democratic rights worldwide will be shredded and the way will be opened to ever greater military lawlessness.
• Defending the release of Maduro and Flores is a basic democratic demand. It is a defense of democratic norms against foreign military abduction.

Why is this important?

• We oppose the US military operation because it is an abhorrent imperialist crime. The United States has a history of bullying Venezuela since the “Bolivarian Revolution” began under the leadership of late left-wing bourgeois populist Hugo Chávez. The United States flexed its economic and military muscle against Venezuela, imposing sanctions, stealing its oil from ships in international waters, and blockading the country in order to overthrow the Bolivarian regime.
• This appears to have prompted fissures within the Bolivarian government. Ahead of the operation, Delcy Rodríguez, then Venezuela’s vice-president, signalled to the US that “Maduro needs to go” and that she would be prepared to cooperate. The United States is interested in establishing stability in Latin America, a region traditionally considered its imperialist “backyard,” and avoiding a post-Maduro “failed state” scenario. The Rodríguez administration, now in power, appears to have provided that.
• The working class in Venezuela, in Latin America, and internationally must conduct an independent struggle: defend democratic rights against imperialism while organizing to replace the rule of capital with workers’ power and international socialism.

What are our immediate demands?

1. Immediate and unconditional release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Adela Flores and all detained Venezuelan leaders.
2. Immediate cessation of US imperialist hostilities, withdrawal of all foreign military forces, and an end to the illegal blockade and seizure of Venezuelan assets and tankers.
3. Ensure full civilian, democratic control of Venezuela’s institutions—no military rule imposed by foreign powers.
4. End all sanctions, asset seizures and economic strangulation that punish the Venezuelan people and bolster imperialist aims.
5. Break the blockade of Cuba, and militarily defend it against attempts by US imperialism to topple the regime.

What must the workers’ movement and other mass organizations do now?

• Call urgent, coordinated protests at US embassies and military bases in Latin America and around the world.
• Publicize the imperialist character of the operation using independent media and workplace networks.
• Demand that all governments and unions refuse to provide intelligence, bases, port services or logistical support for the invasion.
• Mobilize international solidarity for Venezuelan workers, refugees and democratic activists—fundraising, legal aid, sanctuary, and logistical support for those fleeing repression.
• Organize workplace stoppages and solidarity actions that disrupt the logistical support for the war: port pickets, dock slowdowns, and refusal of transport and maintenance work that facilitates the blockade. Coordinate internationally with dock, transport and energy workers.
• Build mass organizations and movements to coordinate actions across workplaces and cities to defend strikers and protesters from repression.

Related articles
‘Pink Tides’ & Popular Fronts: Revolutionary strategy in Latin America (1917 No.47)
Venezuela & the Left (1917 No.30)