The Daily Populous Saturday January 3rd, 2026 evening edition
Authored by commondreams.org and submitted by Smithy2232

The Trump administration's military assault on Venezuela and apparent abduction of the country's president in the early hours of Saturday morning sparked immediate backlash from leaders in Latin America and across the globe, with lawmakers, activists, and experts accusing the US of launching yet another illegal war of aggression.

Latin American leaders portrayed the assault as a continuation of the long, bloody history of US intervention in the region, which has included vicious military coups and material support for genocidal right-wing forces.

"This is state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote in a social media post, demanding urgent action from the international community in response to the "criminal attack."

Evo Morales, the leftist former president of Bolivia, said that "we strongly and unequivocally repudiate" the US attack on Venezuela.

"It is brutal imperialist aggression that violates its sovereignty," Morales added. "All our solidarity with the Venezuelan people in resistance."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, one of the first world leaders to respond to Saturday's developments, decried US "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America." Petro said Colombian forces "are being deployed" to the nation's border with Venezuela and that "all available support forces will be deployed in the event of a massive influx of refugees."

"Without sovereignty, there is no nation," said Petro. "Peace is the way, and dialogue between peoples is fundamental for national unity. Dialogue and more dialogue is our proposal."

The presidents of Chile and Mexico similarly condemned the assault as a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty and international law.

"Based on its foreign policy principles and pacifist vocation, Mexico urgently calls for respect for international law, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, and to cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people," the Mexican government said in a statement. "Latin America and the Caribbean is a zone of peace, built on mutual respect, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the prohibition of the use and threat of force, and therefore any military action puts regional stability at serious risk."

One Latin American leader, far-right Argentine president and Trump ally Javier Milei, openly celebrated the alleged US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, declaring on social media, "FREEDOM ADVANCES."

Leaders and lawmakers in Europe also reacted to the US bombings. Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, issued a cautious statement calling for "deescalation and responsibility."

British MP Zarah Sultana was far more forceful, writing on social media that "Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves—and that’s no coincidence."

"This is naked US imperialism: an illegal assault on Caracas aimed at overthrowing a sovereign government and plundering its resources," Sultana added.

This story has been updated to include statements from the presidents of Chile and Mexico.

KopOut on January 3rd, 2026 at 14:17 UTC »

I know most people already know this, but if people are never held responsible for anything it is insane to expect them to stop breaking the rules. It would be stupid of them NOT TO break the rules at that point.

We are now in year 10 of politician Trump. He has faced basically no consequences for any of his actions in that time. None. Not from our Congress, not from our federal courts, not from world leaders or the United Nations. Nothing. He is now just doing whatever he feels like while enriching himself and his family to absurd levels through corruption.

He has been successfully sued in civil court for an offense decades ago, but has not paid a dime on that judgment yet, and he was convicted of dozens of felonies in the state of New York which has cost him literally nothing. Even the travel restrictions a convicted felon would normally face don't apply because this dumb country elected him president again.

Until people actually start holding him (and other powerful people) accountable and punishing them, it is unreasonable to expect them to act any differently.

zifnab on January 3rd, 2026 at 14:14 UTC »

So, the US will, of course, not object if we do the same to the criminal D. Trump?

theguy1336 on January 3rd, 2026 at 13:52 UTC »

We are THREE days into 2026 and he's already frozen ALL childcare payments to all 50 states, and kidnapped a foreign President.

What else? I'm sure I have missed some other thing as well.

The US is ruled by the Mad King, Caligula, Nero, Commodus. What an absolutely historic fall from... well let's not say "grace."