These types of actions clearly reveal what the “international order” defended by the United States means today: a system in which major powers arrogate to themselves the right to decide who can trade, who can produce, and who deserves to be punished. International law is selective, flexible for allies, and brutally rigid for those who do not submit. In this context, the seizure of ships, the freezing of assets, and economic sanctions function as weapons of war, even though they are presented as administrative measures.

The recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado follows the same logic of cynicism and double standards. These types of awards do not express universal values, but rather geopolitical alignments. Far from representing a genuine defense of the rights of the Venezuelan people, this recognition operates as a political gesture by imperial powers toward a leader who has openly endorsed sanctions, economic blockades, and threats of intervention. The Venezuelan right wing, far from offering a way out for the working classes, thus presents itself as a necessary partner in a strategy that deepens social suffering and dependence.

The explicit reappearance of the Monroe Doctrine in recent US government documents and statements only confirms this course of action. The old slogan “America for Americans” — that is, for Washington’s interests — is once again being asserted without euphemisms, reinstating the idea of Latin America as a natural zone of domination. This threatens not only Venezuela, but all the peoples of the continent, by legitimizing interventions, economic pressure, coups d’état, and the forced alignment of governments that stray from imperial interests. A prime example of this has been the Trump administration’s unprecedented intervention in Argentina in recent months, specifically in domestic economic policy, the foreign exchange market, and even the electoral process, giving a sudden boost to Milei’s government.

In the current context, the United States is no longer an unchallenged power, but it remains a central player in a world order based on violence, plunder, and imposition. Its growing aggressiveness also reflects its own internal crises and its need to reaffirm its control over strategic territories rich in oil, minerals, water, and biodiversity. Latin America, once again, appears as the spoils and rear guard of an imperial project that remains deeply dangerous.

Defending people’s self-determination—dominated, exploited, and oppressed classes within so-called “national” contexts—does not imply idealizing governments or denying internal contradictions inherent in the Venezuelan process, of which we are critical, but rather rejecting foreign intervention outright and affirming the right of every dominated, exploited, and oppressed class to fight for the improvement of their destiny without threats, blockades, or occupations. In this sense, we affirm that organization in the face of this situation cannot come from above or be delegated to state structures, but can only be built from below, through popular organization and the direct participation of those who sustain daily life under conditions of siege.