Trump fascism is a regime that openly and aggressively strips away basic rights and blatantly declares that there is no rule of law and due process of law other than what it dictates, and that raw destructive power is what must rule in the international arena, without even the pretense of adherence to international law or concern about the sovereignty, or even the right to exist, of less powerful peoples and countries.

—Bob Avakian, REVOLUTION #114: "Defeating Trump/MAGA fascism: Looking to some future elections... or working now to mobilize millions around this powerful unifying demand: The Trump fascist regime must go!

This policy of open fascist thuggery and threats of war is rapidly escalating in the Trump regime's military offensive against Venezuela, while they declare their intention to much more fully and openly control the whole of Latin America. 

On Friday, Trump said to the press, "I can’t tell you what it would be, but I’ve sort of made up my mind," on whether to take military action in Venezuela. This came after two days of White House meetings where they were said to be deliberating this.

In just the last few days:

• On November 15, the U.S. carried out the 21st illegal military strike on small speedboats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, with over 83 people now murdered.
• On November 12, Trump was briefed on military options for military operations in Venezuela, including possible land strikes.
• The U.S.'s most massive and most lethal warship is now within striking distance of Venezuela.
• It was disclosed last week that a U.S. military combat aircraft and two spy planes have been operating from an El Salvador military base. Meanwhile, the U.S. is making plans for an air base in Ecuador, beginning troop rotations in Panama, and reopening a naval base in Puerto Rico.

The Trump Regime Asserts Violent Control Over "Their Neighborhood"

The justification for this military offensive is a thin lie. Trump claims Venezuela is aiding drug cartels and the boats the U.S. is shooting out of the water are boats bringing drugs into the U.S.—but there is no evidence to back this up, and all evidence that does exist points to the contrary.

We know for a fact that many of those killed off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia are fishermen, not drug smugglers.¹ But as we wrote previously, "Even if the charge of drug smuggling were proven in court, this would not be legally punishable by death! And if there were evidence for this crime, those suspected should be arrested and given a trial. Second, if the people in these boats were trying to bring drugs to the U.S., it's extremely unlikely they would be bringing fentanyl, which mainly comes through Mexico. Colombian and Venezuelan cartels both export cocaine to the vast U.S. market, where for a whole host of reasons (largely societal) people use drugs to both numb and stimulate themselves. And cocaine does not account for 'thousands and thousands of deaths' a year, fentanyl does."

While Hegseth continued with this lie in a recent statement, his subtext made the U.S.'s intentions more clear. He tweeted out the official name for this military operation: "Operation Southern Spear." Hegseth wrote, "this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood—and we will protect it." (Emphasis added.)

This view that the whole of the Western Hemisphere is "America's neighborhood" openly channels the U.S.'s military doctrine articulated by President James Monroe in the early 1800s: Latin America is the U.S.'s "sphere of influence," so the U.S. was justified in violently asserting American control. The expansion of U.S. imperialism with this justification led to two centuries of American invasions, coups, the funding of death squads, and the extension of its parasitic tentacles deep into the economies of all the countries throughout Latin American. (To get more into this history, see articles in the American Crime series at revcom.us.)

As we wrote previously:

The Trump regime's goal is to consolidate Latin America into a political and economic fascist bloc with the U.S. at the head. They see this as a strategic necessity for the U.S. imperialists in their contention with their top global imperialist rival, China—which has become a dominant economic force in Latin America. China is now South America’s top trading partner and a major source of both foreign direct investment, and energy and infrastructure lending. 

Venezuela, for example, is becoming increasingly dependent on China, which has given the country about $60 billion in military assistance. And China buys 90 percent of Venezuela's vast oil production. The core of Trump's regime sees forcing Venezuela's President out of power as the first step toward toppling the two other regimes they see as “leftist strongmen” (i.e., those not totally obedient to U.S. demands)—Cuba and Nicaragua. At the same time, they are moving to embrace and reward those governments that agree to come under the control of the U.S., and punish others who resist. 

An anonymous Trump official was quoted in the Washington Post saying, "The overall strategy is America First. Countries who choose to align with U.S. interests and are open to mutually beneficial deals reap the benefits and have the option of partnering with our incredible military and intelligence services... [But] those who enable and support cartels who poison U.S. citizens or allow adversarial nations access to control critical infrastructure or base hostile capabilities in our backyard will feel pressure to change course.” (Emphasis added.)

These are sovereign nations, and the U.S.—like an open gangster—is saying, "Work with us or else."

Massive Military Might Deployed to the Region

It's not clear at this point whether Trump is sending all this military equipment to pressure Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, to resign—or if he intends a land attack, or even a ground invasion.

The warship, centerpiece of the "Ford Strike Group," now off the coast of Venezuela is the most advanced and largest aircraft carrier the U.S. has. At 100,000 tons, it holds a crew of 4,500 sailors and marines. This is in addition to the 10,000 soldiers already stationed in the area. The ship holds 75-90 aircraft (from drones to helicopters to spy planes). According to ABC News, "The strike group includes three destroyers that will augment the eight Navy surface ships already in the SOUTHCOM region. The sizable U.S. military presence in the region also includes a submarine, reconnaissance aircraft, 10 F-35 fighters and Reaper drones."

This is massive military might.

The military news website Stars and Stripes quoted a retired Navy officer, Bryan Clark, that "That level of firepower seems like overkill for the current mission in the Caribbean... But the addition [of the aircraft carrier] would be an efficient way to sustain strikes against targets ashore, Clark said, noting that the U.S. doesn’t have any land bases in Central or South America." 

In other words, if the U.S. were to start a war, this ship—acting as a military base—would be essential.

There Is No Living with This Fascism

Over 80 people have been killed in the U.S. strikes off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. The fishing industry in those countries have been affected with extreme fear among the fisherman of going out to the high seas where they make their living. 

Not only is this a violation of international law, but the Trump regime is declaring their ability to wage war anywhere they see fit, without Congressional approval or oversight. On October 23, Trump said: “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war [from Congress]. I think we are going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We are going to kill them, you know? They are going to be, like, dead.” 

Trump's bloody serial murders on the seas, his declaration that he can murder anyone he wants to at any time, and the threats of even bigger war crimes against Venezuela and other countries in the region, are completely lawless and illegitimate. These moves pose extreme danger to the people of Venezuela, Colombia, to all of Latin America, and the whole world. And they represent an even further leap in the consolidation of a fascist America, and underscore why millions must rise up to demand: 

IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY, we refuse to accept a fascist America!

Trump Must Go Now!