History will record US President Trump’s move to invade Venezuela, arrest its President and his wife, and forcibly take them to the US to face trial in a US court, as one of the worst decisions made by any US President in American history. This is a fatal error that would seriously damage the reputation of the US in the eyes of the world, and it would take a very long time for future US Presidents to undo the disrepute brought about by President Trump.
Historians and discerning observers would view this move by the US President as similar to China’s decision to invade the defenceless Tibet in the 1950s and take over the country. China claimed that its actions were justified, arguing that Tibet was part of China. Now, Trump has justified his move to invade Venezuela by claiming that the Venezuelan government is involved in drug trafficking. The excuses offered by both China and the US are false and merely a façade to conceal their real motives and intentions. While China wanted Tibetan territory because of its natural and mineral resources, the US wants Venezuelan territory because of its vast oil reserves. Trump has now claimed that he would control Venezuela and its oil reserves.
While public opinion around the world views Trump’s aggressive posture against Venezuela as contrary to international law, immoral and unethical, some governments would support Trump’s move for geopolitical reasons. As in the case of China’s occupation of Tibet, in all probability Trump will have his way and bring Venezuela under his control.
What, then, is the option left for the people of Venezuela, who must be angry, frustrated and deeply insulted by President Trump? Whatever Trump’s view of the President of Venezuela may be, it is for the people of Venezuela alone to decide whether they wish to have him as their President.
Certainly, a movement will arise in Venezuela to liberate the country from US control, though the world and its sympathisers will, by and large, remain mere observers. Therefore, the people of Venezuela will have to fight their own battle, just as the people of Tibet had to struggle against Chinese aggression largely through their own efforts.
Compared to Venezuela, the US is a far larger country with vastly superior military capabilities. In the event that the people of Venezuela resort to guerrilla-style warfare against US aggression within their country, President Trump would likely use overwhelming force to suppress the movement, unmindful of criticism from all quarters.
Clearly, the remaining option for the people of Venezuela is to initiate and sustain a massive peaceful movement against US occupation, similar to the non-violent struggle India successfully waged against British rule under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. This Satyagraha (which translates from Sanskrit as “holding firmly to truth” or “insistence on truth”) was such a powerful moral force that the British government could not resist it and was ultimately compelled to leave the country.
All said and done, despite President Trump’s unethical actions against Venezuela, the people of the US remain committed to democratic principles and freedom of speech. Many US citizens have already questioned Trump’s act of aggression and have condemned it in unequivocal terms.
A peaceful agitation based on Mahatma Gandhi’s principles, if launched in Venezuela, would exert enormous pressure on President Trump and his administration, not only from across the world but also from US citizens themselves.
Certainly, President Trump has erred, with serious consequences for the pattern of international relations, and has brought disrepute upon the US. His move must be resisted, and that resistance should begin with the people of Venezuela through an unarmed, peaceful agitation that would shake the conscience of the world—and the conscience of US citizens as well.
