'Naked aggression': CPI(M) slams US 'abduction' of Venezuelan President Maduro

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby on Saturday condemned what he described as the “abduction” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the US, calling it a "naked act of aggression" ordered by President Donald Trump.

Addressing reporters here, Baby alleged that the US had unleashed open aggression against Venezuela after weeks of deploying military forces in the Caribbean Sea under the pretext of acting against a narcotics mafia.

“The US has not produced any evidence to substantiate its claims. This is not the first time such an attempt has been made. In 2002 also, there was a similar intervention in Venezuela, but the people overthrew the puppet government imposed by the US,” he said.

He said India has been a forerunner of the Non-Aligned Movement and should view the developments as an attack on a third-world country.

“This is a blind violation of international laws. The US repeatedly violates international norms and aims to bend the world to its will,” Baby alleged.

He said that despite weeks of military deployment and international interventions, the US had nothing to show as a legitimate victory and that the attack on Venezuela was merely a show of power.

“India’s stand on this issue is important. India has long-standing ties with Venezuela, and its silence on the matter is doubtful,” he said.

Baby said the United Nations should intervene in the issue, noting that Venezuela has already endured several imperialist suppressions in the past.

He alleged that the attack was carried out while Venezuela was “sleeping” and that heavily armed US forces were deployed against the public and the Venezuelan military’s elite units.

He said the CPI(M) does not demand a complete severing of ties with the US, but asserted that the actions of the American administrative machinery should be condemned.

“The attack on Venezuela is an attack on the sovereignty of a third-world nation,” Baby said.