WORKERS NEED COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONARY SOLIDARITY AROUND THE WORLD
LOS ANGELES (USA), October 27— “It looks like there will be war in Venezuela and South America. We must show solidarity,” said a hotel worker who reads Red Flag.
An ICWP comrade replied: “It’s a confrontation between the local bosses and between imperialists. Our solidarity must be with the working class and with the idea of a communist revolution. Finish them all off!”
“That’s tough,” said the friend.
“We have no alternative,” replied the comrade.
The US imperialists, currently led by the fascist Trump, see Venezuelan oil, its immense reserves, and other minerals in South America as mines to recover. These are falling into the hands of their imperialist rivals Russia, China, and Iran. Venezuela is an important OPEC partner. Trump also wants complete control of the Panama Canal.
One aspect of this capitalist-imperialist struggle is the deportation of thousands of Venezuelans from the US. Another is sanctions against Venezuela, further impoverishing the working class.
On the other hand, there is the brazen warlike deployment of the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and the missile attacks on alleged “drug trafficking boats” in the waters near Venezuela and Colombia. These attacks have murdered dozens of people. They are primarily carried out by the US Navy and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). For decades, these have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of workers in Latin America and around the world.
Imperialist Rivals Support Venezuela Maduro Financially and Militarily
In May 2025, Vladimir Putin (Russia) and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement. In September, both countries held large-scale military training in the Caribbean. Russian warships visited the Venezuelan port of La Guaira.
Relations between Venezuela and China have increased this year. Hundreds of new agreements have been signed on trade, investment, and technology, including Artificial Intelligence.
Meanwhile, the new China-Chancay mega-port in Peru is becoming a direct trade route between China and South America that bypasses the Panama Canal. A Chinese-built network of highways is linking Brazil’s Atlantic coast to Chancay and other Pacific ports in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Inter-imperialist rivalry in South America is directly connected to the genocide in Gaza, where these same imperialists are fighting for control of Middle Eastern oil. This genocide is a prelude to what could happen in Latin America. But there is a big difference: the bosses in Latin America are armed and directly supported by other imperialists. That would mean there could be enormous bloodshed and another front in a Third World War.
Nationalism or Communism
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has mobilized a large part of the population to defend the “homeland-nation.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro is doing the same thing, while expressing direct support for the Venezuelan government. These are capitalist governments that actually seek to defend the interests of local bosses who benefit from the exploitation of workers, oil companies, and other industries.
The working class in Venezuela and the entire world has nothing to gain by supporting one capitalist group or another. We must shake off the yoke of exploitation and create our own future. We must fight to destroy capitalism and create a new communist world without money, without exploitation.
Currently, Latin America is a powder keg. Different groups of bosses fight over profits and decide which imperialist group to negotiate with. They all use nationalism and patriotism to win the working class over to their exploitative objectives. The masses are fed up with capitalism and are taking to the streets with their demands.
The working class of the world, especially Latin America, has vast experience with how nationalist movements have only brought more capitalism, misery, hunger, and war. Our solidarity must be to build ICWP internationally and fight directly for a communist society.
“We’ll see what we do,” said our friend at the end of the discussion.
Our response is that we must take communist ideas wherever we can. As a collective, we know many who have family or friends in South America. Talking to them or sending them our Red Flag newspaper is a good way to spread the communist ideas that will free us from the chains of capitalism and lead to the struggle for a communist revolution.
Read our manifesto: Mobilize the Masses for Communism here