The recent seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker by the United States, a naked act of imperialist piracy, as well as President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade on Venezuela, both mark an extremely dangerous escalation in Washington’s campaign of imperialist aggression in the Americas.

Oil is Venezuela’s primary export. By attacking its ability to export oil, the United States exposes its real objective: not “democracy” or “human rights,” but regime change. This is a calculated attempt to strangle Venezuela’s economy, provoke instability, and ultimately seize control of its vast oil reserves for the benefit of U.S. corporations.

The seizure is reminiscent of the criminal blockade imposed on Cuba for more than six decades. Cuba is punished for daring to break from capitalism and imperialism in order to build a socialist society. Venezuela is now targeted for the same alleged crime: refusing to submit to imperial domination and attempting to develop in the interests of its own people.

These acts are not isolated incidents. They are part of a global imperialist system that wages war, enforces sanctions, and starves entire nations into submission to protect profit and power. These recent developments represent the evolution of a system that has inflicted untold suffering on Latin America for centuries, just as it has in Ireland. The Irish working class should see this for what it really is: an attempt by an imperialist power to dominate nations that seek to chart an independent course of development.