Colonial ambitions
Chancellor Merz sees nothing wrong with US warfare against Venezuela, even expressing satisfaction at President Maduro’s abduction. African governments have denounced Washington’s “colonial ambitions”.
BERLIN/WASHINGTON/CARACAS (our own report) – The German government has started the new year with a declaration of political and ideological bankruptcy. While Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been loudly insisting on sanctions against Russia for its “war of aggression” against Ukraine, he sees nothing reprehensible in the US war of aggression against Venezuela and the abduction of its elected president. Merz claims the “legal assessment” of the US invasion is “complex”. With its weasel words the German government, already facing international criticism for double standards, is losing even more credibility worldwide. Berlin has further isolated itself from the countries of the Global South. African countries, among others, have issued sharply critical, and factually correct, statements in response to the US strikes on Venezuela. They condemn the violations of international law. As the Ghanaian Foreign Ministry, for example, points out, President Trump’s announcement that the US would “run” Venezuela until further notice is “reminiscent of the colonial and imperialist era” and that “such colonial ambitions should have no place” in the modern era. Berlin, by contrast, has unhesitatingly sided with Washington.
From boat killings ...
Even before its direct invasion of Venezuela, the United States had been gradually ramping up its crimes against the country. The German government failed to express any criticism of the illegal actions of its military ally. From 2 September to 31 December, US armed forces bombed at least 35 boats off the Venezuelan coast, killing at least 115 people, according to figures published in the New York Times.[1] The blanket justification is the claim that the victims are drug traffickers, which has not been publicly substantiated in a single case. While drug traffickers around the world are entitled to a fair trial in countries governed by the rule of law, this is no longer the case in the US. In addition to boat killings justified by mere suspicions, we have also seen out-and-out piracy in the capture of foreign oil tankers. The pretext here is that the vessels are violating US sanctions. Yet US sanctions may be valid nationally but certainly not beyond US territorial waters. Anyone who detains, hijacks or actually steals cargo from tankers in this way is breaking international law. In another illegal act, the Trump administration declared the airspace over Venezuela, i.e. foreign airspace, closed at the end of November.[2] Berlin again remained silent throughout all these transgressions.
... to a war of aggression
In addition to the tanker hijackings and boat killings, we are now witnessing an illegal war of aggression and the illegal abduction of an elected president and his wife. Initial reports claimed that at least forty people were killed in the US raid on Venezuela on Friday night. The figure is likely to be much higher, and the damage to property is immense.[3] The Trump administration is justifying the abduction of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores with alleged violations of US law. Yet Venezuelan law applies in Venezuela. President Trump announced on Saturday that the US would “run” Venezuela indefinitely with immediate effect.[4] Trump says that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez must now “do what we want, or there’s going to be trouble”, i.e. a second wave of attacks will follow, even bigger than the first.[5] Nor does Trump rule out boots on the ground. Regardless of the next steps, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday that Venezuela would continue to be kept under military “quarantine” by Washington – effectively meaning that tankers would continue to be detained and the oil they transport stolen.[6] The Trump administration will therefore continue to deprive Venezuela and its population of a source of income that is vital for their survival.
“Next, please!”
US President Trump is also threatening three other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with military attacks. In his first year in office, which began on 20 January last year, he has already ordered military strikes on seven sovereign states: four in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen), two in Africa (Somalia and Nigeria), and now Venezuela.[7] He has threatened military operations in Panama if the canal is not placed securely under US control. And he says he wants to annex Canada and Greenland. In the case of Greenland, Trump does not rule out military force against NATO ally Denmark. Now threats against Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico have been added to the list. US Secretary of State Rubio has stated that if he were a member of the government in Havana, “I’d be concerned.”[8] On Saturday, Trump accused Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, without evidence, of producing cocaine, saying “He’s gotta watch his ass.” Talking about the excessive influence of Mexican drug cartels, he said the US was “going to have to do something about Mexico.” The Trump administration is pursuing a policy of naked violence not only with strikes against Venezuela but also with threats to more and more Latin American countries.
“Solidarity with Venezuela”
A principled response to illegal US violence is shown by statements from the African Union and individual African nations. In a communiqué issued on Saturday, the African Union stated that it was “following with grave concern” developments in Venezuela, not least “the abduction of the president”. The body reaffirmed “its steadfast commitment to the fundamental principles of international law,” emphasized the importance of “peaceful settlement of disputes” and expressed “its solidarity with the Venezuelan people”. Internal conflicts in Venezuela could only be sustainably addressed “through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves.”[9]
“Against invasion, occupation, colonialism”
The Ghanaian Foreign Ministry voiced its condemnation even more clearly on Sunday. The government in Accra said it was “alarmed at the unilateral and unauthorised invasion” and the “abduction” of the president and his wife. It issued a statement deploring actions that violate the sovereignty and political independence of a foreign state. In particular, it noted with great concern statements by US President Trump that Washington will “run” Venezuela until further notice. These were “reminiscent of the colonial and imperialist era”. Such colonial ambitions should have “no place in the post-Second World War era”. Ghana has therefore called for an immediate de-escalation and release of President Maduro and his wife.[10] The statement ends with a reassertion that Accra fundamentally opposes “invasion, occupation, colonialism, apartheid and all forms of disregard for national sovereignty” and, of course, violations of international law.
“Legal assessment: complex”
This position is in stark contrast to the response from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government—like all German governments—presents itself as a champion of international law. Merz begins his short statement “on the situation in Venezuela” with the following sentence: “Nicolás Maduro has led his country into ruin.”[11] He claims Maduro played “a problematic role” with “unfortunate alliances worldwide”, which means that Berlin denies Venezuela’s sovereign choice pf cooperating with partners such as Russia, China and Iran. Merz neutrally refers to the US war of aggression simply as a “mission”, making no mention of the Venezuelan president’s abduction. “The legal assessment of the US mission is,” the statement says, “complex.” Merz merely concedes, without further clarification, that “in principle international law must apply in relations between states.” Statements issued by French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas are very similar in content and tone.[12] In this way, Europe approves of the use of force and violence by the US, while countries that have suffered a history of colonial oppression, such as Ghana, are calling them out.
[1] Lazaro Gamio, Carol Rosenberg, Charlie Savage: Tracking U.S. Military Killings in Boat Attacks. nytimes.com.
[2] See: Von Drohnen- zu Bootsmorden.
[3] Venezuelan Official Says at Least 40 People Were Killed in U.S. Attack. nytimes.com 03.01.2026.
[4] Jennifer Calfas: Trump Says U.S. Will Run Venezuela Until a ‘Proper’ Transition Can Take Place. wsj.com 03.01.2026.
[5] Steven Nelson: Trump tells Post that US troops won’t be in Venezuela if Maduro VP ‘does what we want’: ‘We have a second wave’. nypost.com 03.01.2026.
[6] Edward Wong: The U.S. military ‘quarantine’ of Venezuela will remain in place, Rubio says. nytimes.com 04.01.2026.
[7] Mike Allen: 1 big thing: U.S. captures Maduro. axios.com 03.01.2026.
[8] Andrew Childers, Josephine Walker: After capturing Maduro, Trump hints at military action in Cuba, Mexico and Colombia. axios.com 03.01.2026.
[9] Communiqué on the Situation in Venezuela. au.int 03.01.2026.
[10] Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ghana alarmed and deplores military invasion of Venezuela by the United States of America and its subsequent abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Accra, 04.01.2026.
[11] Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz erklärt zur Situation in Venezuela. bundesregierung.de 03.01.2026.
[12] Die Reaktionen – China wütend über Angriff, Selenskyj spielt auf Sturz von Putin an. spiegel.de 04.01.2026.
