Statement of the Tudeh Party of Iran:

The Tudeh Party of Iran Condemns the Criminal Aggression of U.S. Imperialism Against Venezuela!

4 January 2026

In the early hours of 3 January 2026, the military forces of the quasi-fascist Trump administration carried out a large-scale military invasion of Venezuelan territory. This aggressive and arbitrary act, which constitutes a blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, represents a new step by U.S. imperialism toward plundering the oil resources of an independent country and imposing open and violent military domination over Latin America. In this military operation, carried out under the name “Absolute Resolve,” Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, and his wife, Cilia Flores, were abducted and taken to the United States. According to published reports, the Venezuelan president and his wife were first transported by helicopter to a U.S. Navy vessel and are now being held in a prison in New York City. The abduction by U.S. forces and the hostage-taking of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, carried out alongside a military attack on an independent country, is yet another clear example of a new form of bullying international relations based on force, power, and disregard for international law that U.S. imperialism and its allies seek to impose on the world.

According to statements by Venezuela’s minister of defence, about 40 guards of the presidential palace were killed during the U.S. forces’ attack on the Venezuelan president’s residence. The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Venezuela, in a statement issued on Saturday, 3 January, strongly condemned “this imperialist aggression, which bears the stamp of the intensification of the war-mongering attitude of the government of the United States of America and its absolute disregard for international law, the right of peoples to self-determination, and peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.” The Communist Party of Venezuela also “calls on the international communist and workers’ movement and the world’s popular, democratic, and anti-imperialist forces to mobilize in condemnation of this new and dangerous military aggression and to actively express solidarity with the people of Venezuela.”

The political and economic objectives of the Trump administration in organizing and carrying out this arbitrary action—an action that has deeply alarmed world public opinion—are to impose a government subservient to imperialism on Venezuela and to plunder that country’s oil and other natural resources. In remarks made on Saturday, Trump stated that until a “judicious transition” of power takes place in Venezuela, the United States will “run” Venezuela for now.

Nevertheless, Delcy Rodríguez, Vice President of Venezuela, emphasized in her televised address that Maduro remains the country’s legitimate president and that the nation is prepared to defend its national sovereignty.

The bandit-like act of U.S. imperialism in bombing Venezuela’s capital and abducting and taking hostage the president of a United Nations member state and his wife was met with widespread international protest. The government of Colombia has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. This meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, 5 January, with the support of two permanent members of the Council, namely Russia and China.

The government of Cuba also issued a statement in the very early hours following the U.S. military aggression against Venezuela, in which it strongly condemned the action. On Saturday, Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba, said: “This military aggression against a peaceful nation that poses no threat to the United States of America is a shocking violation of the norms of international law. Cuba considers this action to be state terrorism and condemns and denounces it. We are ready to give our blood for Venezuela.”

The Communist Party USA, in its statement condemning the action, declared in part: “Kidnapping and an act of war. That's the only way to describe the attack on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro’s removal by U.S. military forces. It’s unjust, illegal, and it’s yet another act of state terror against not only Venezuela but any country that refuses to submit to the Trump Doctrine.”

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, described the Trump administration’s action as a violation of international law. He stated: “U.S. military action in the country [Venezuela]” and the detention of that country’s president “has potential worrying implications for the region.”

Together with other progressive and peace-loving forces around the world, the Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns the aggressive military attack by the quasi-fascist Trump administration and the abduction of the president of Venezuela and his wife. What we have witnessed in recent weeks, and especially on Saturday 3 January constitutes a blatant violation of Articles 1 and 2 of the United Nations Charter, which emphasizethe sovereign equality and equal rights and self-determination. Referring to the 1984 ruling of the International Court of Justice in the case “Nicaragua v. United States of America,” the Tudeh Party of Iran assesses this action by U.S. imperialism as a “neo-colonial” move based on the “Monroe Doctrine.”

In these critical and dangerous moments, more than ever, it is necessary for all progressive and peace-loving forces of the world—especially the global labourand communist movement—to mobilize their forces to confront the disastrous policies of the Trump administration and to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, and to engage in joint protest and action. This action by the Trump administration constitutes a serious and dangerous threat to the rule of law and to world peace.

Tudeh Party of Iran
4 January 2026

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