The recent escalation of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, specifically the Jan. 3, 2026, decapitation strike known as Operation Absolute Resolve, has triggered a massive wave of coordinated domestic and international resistance led by left-wing political organizations.
In the United States, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) has taken the lead, organizing “emergency protests” in dozens of cities from New York to Los Angeles, condemning what they describe as a “brazen act of colonial aggression” and the “kidnapping” of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Protesters gathered in front of the Wallace Federal Building in Salt Lake City and the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where Maduro is scheduled for arraignment today, Jan. 5.
These activists argue that the Trump administration’s justification—centered on narco-terrorism and the seizure of oil reserves—is a modern-day revival of the Monroe Doctrine, or a “Trump Corollary,” designed to treat the entire Western Hemisphere as a private resource for American industry. They emphasize that the strike, which reportedly resulted in over 80 casualties, including dozens of Cuban military personnel, was conducted without congressional approval and in direct violation of the United Nations Charter.
The dissent is even more pronounced in India, where a coalition of five major Left parties—the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP)—issued a stinging joint statement calling for a “nationwide day of action.” Leaders like M.A. Baby of the CPI(M) and D. Raja of the CPI have characterized the U.S. move as a “naked act of international terrorism,” expressing “firm solidarity” with the Venezuelan people’s right to sovereignty.
These groups are demanding that the Indian government formally condemn the strikes, particularly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Cuba and Mexico could be the “next targets” of American military power. In New Delhi, the Left has called on all “anti-imperialist and peace-loving people” to mobilize in large numbers to protest against “U.S. hegemony.”
Internationally, the “Hands Off Venezuela” movement has gained momentum, with violent clashes reported at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City’s Polanco neighborhood, where demonstrators threw rocks and painted anti-interventionist slogans on the exterior walls.
Similar rallies have emerged in Brussels, Madrid, and Ankara, fueled by growing global anxiety over the potential for a prolonged regional war in South America. Many of these protests are focused on the humanitarian and legal implications of the “extrajudicial abduction” of a sitting head of state, comparing the move to the 1989 invasion of Panama.
As Interim President Delcy Rodríguez attempts to navigate a fragile diplomatic path in Caracas, her supporters in the Global South are using these nationwide protests to pressure the international community into demanding Maduro’s immediate release and the withdrawal of the 15,000-strong U.S. military presence currently stationed in the Caribbean.
The rhetoric of the Left continues to frame the conflict not as a law enforcement operation, but as a strategic maneuver to seize the world’s largest proven oil reserves. This narrative is resonating with millions who fear a return to the era of regime-change wars.
With more rallies planned throughout the week, the political pressure on the White House is mounting, even as the administration remains steadfast in its goal of “fixing” Venezuela through direct control and resource management.
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