The U.S. intervention in Venezuela constitutes the culmination of a months-long escalation of U.S. aggression against the country and, more broadly, across the entire “theatre” of Latin and Central America.
The intensifying U.S.–China rivalry for primacy within the international imperialist system, the strategic importance of Latin America as a trade corridor and repository of critical raw materials, as well as control over Venezuela as a country endowed with vast natural resources, are the real causes of the intervention—behind the pretexts of “combating drug trafficking” and “restoring democracy.”
Certain “links” in the chain of events recorded and exposed by Rizospastis help track these rapidly unfolding developments and reveal the broader picture behind the Euro-Atlantic propaganda reproduced by the government and uncritically disseminated by the bourgeois media in our country.
“National Security” and the New “Monroe Doctrine”
In December 2025, the White House published the U.S. National Security Strategy, which essentially constitutes the roadmap of the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Its references to Latin America are particularly revealing.
The document explicitly states: "After years of neglect and indifference, the United States will reaffirm and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American primacy in the Western Hemisphere, in order to protect our homeland and our access to geographically vital areas throughout the region.”
This represents a revival of the neo-colonial doctrine of 1823, through which the United States proclaimed the American continent an exclusive “sphere of influence” of Washington.
Even more significant is the reference to “extra-hemispheric competitors”: “We will deny extra-hemispheric competitors the ability to deploy forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control assets of strategic significance in our hemisphere.” The aim is to block the influence of powers belonging to the Eurasian imperialist camp in the making, primarily China and Russia.
The Strategy outlines specific measures for Latin America, including: “adjusting our global military posture to address urgent threats in our hemisphere”; “a more appropriate presence of the Coast Guard as well as the Navy to control maritime corridors”; “targeted deployments for border security and the defeat of cartels, including, where necessary, the use of lethal force”; and “establishing or expanding access to strategically significant locations.”
Concerns over Chinese Penetration
U.S. “concerns” regarding “extra-hemispheric competitors” are expressed from the standpoint of the interests of American monopolies, as over the past two decades China has achieved substantial penetration in Latin America.
The data are revealing. In 2000, the Chinese market accounted for less than 2% of Latin American exports. Today, China is the leading trading partner of South America and the second largest across Latin America as a whole—just one position behind the United States.
Total trade with China reached a historic record of 518.47 billion dollars in 2024, up 6% year on year. For countries such as Brazil, Chile, and Peru, Beijing is already the largest trading partner. Analysts predict that by 2035 China could surpass the United States as the most important trading partner of the entire region.
Economic penetration is not limited to trade. Since 2005, the China Development Bank and the China Exim Bank have provided more than 141 billion dollars in loan commitments to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This amount exceeds the combined lending of the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Development Bank of Latin America over the same period. The loans primarily concern four countries—Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela—which together account for nearly 93% of the total. The majority were directed toward energy projects (69%) and infrastructure (19%).
Venezuela occupies a distinct position in this relationship. It has received Chinese state loans worth nearly 60 billion dollars—almost double the amount received by Brazil, the second-largest borrower.
China is also the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil. It is not coincidental that just hours before the U.S. attack, President Maduro met in Caracas with China’s special envoy for Latin America, Qiu Xiaoqi, announcing after the meeting: “We reaffirmed our commitment to the strategic partnership, which is being strengthened across various sectors.”
Beyond trade and loans, Chinese companies have acquired ownership or control of more than ten strategic port infrastructures in Latin America and the Caribbean. Chinese infrastructure projects in the region have increased by 50% over the past five years.
Huawei now cooperates with every major mobile and internet provider in the region, developing 5G infrastructure. A characteristic example is the port of Chancay in Peru, constructed and operated by China’s COSCO. Once completed, it will be able to handle 3.5 million containers per year, potentially becoming the largest port managed by a Chinese state-owned company worldwide.
The “Belt and Road Initiative” has also expanded into the region, as 24 of the 33 CELAC countries (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) are now partners in China’s project. At the 2025 China–CELAC Forum ministerial meeting in Beijing, the Chinese president committed to a new 9-billion-dollar credit line for the region.
Oil and Strategic Raw Materials
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves: 303 billion barrels of crude, representing approximately 17.5% of global reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, oil production has collapsed over recent decades due to sanctions, economic crisis, and lack of investment.
Today the country produces around 1 million barrels per day—less than half of its output before Maduro assumed office in 2013. The state company PDVSA estimates that its pipelines have not been upgraded for 50 years and that even restoring production to previous (low) levels would cost 58 billion dollars.
The significance of Latin America is not limited to oil. The region concentrates immense mineral and natural wealth of decisive importance for strategic sectors of the economy, particularly in times of global war preparations.
According to a report by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), these raw materials “often constitute necessary inputs for a wide range of strategic sectors, including renewable energy, the digital industry, space, defense, and health.”
The region contains nearly 20% of global oil reserves, 47% of lithium reserves, 36.6% of copper, 34.5% of silver, 23.8% of natural graphite, 20.6% of tin, 18.8% of iron, 16.7% of rare earths, and 15.7% of nickel.
It is not only rich in reserves but also a major producer. It accounts for more than 50% of global silver production, 37% of copper and lithium, 36% of molybdenum, 20% of tin and zinc, and 16% of iron.
The so-called “Lithium Triangle” (Chile, Bolivia, Argentina) constitutes a focal point of interest for the electric-vehicle industry. Chinese companies invested more than 73 billion dollars in Latin America’s raw-materials sector between 2000 and 2018.
Brazil is of particular importance due to its vast niobium reserves—a metal used to strengthen steel and considered suitable for aircraft engines, rocket motors, and high-technology products. The region also hosts more than 30% of the planet’s primary forests, while agricultural and livestock production is of enormous importance.
Over the past two decades, nearly one quarter of global investment in non-ferrous metal mining has been concentrated in the region, mainly in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Mexico.
Competition for control over these resources lies at the heart of the U.S.–China confrontation. China’s foreign direct investment in the region focuses on sectors Beijing defines as “new infrastructure,” such as telecommunications, technology, and energy, which account for 58% of total Chinese investment in Latin America.
Another “Hotspot” on the Map of Rivalries
The intervention in Venezuela confirms the brutality and cynicism of the imperialists. With the U.S. intervention, Latin America is added to the planet’s “hot zones.” After Ukraine, the Middle East, and East Asia, the Americas become a field of open confrontation.
The U.S. National Security Strategy explicitly refers to the redeployment of military forces from other fronts to Latin America. Trump made no secret of the fact that after Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua are also in the crosshairs, while he openly threatened Mexico, claiming it is “run by cartels” and that “something has to be done.”
The imperialist crime in Venezuela is not the “final act,” but the beginning of a domino effect that will spread throughout the region. For this reason, the Greek government bears enormous responsibility by supporting the intervention and the pretexts of Euro-Atlantic imperialism—along with other parties that conceal the real causes of imperialist planning and align with the government in serving the interests of the bourgeois class, paving the way for even deeper involvement.
