RIPESS strongly condemns the grave violation of the sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela represented by the recent military intrusion of the United States, including the kidnapping of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and the subsequent bombing of Caracas and the states of Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua. These acts constitute an unacceptable attack on self‑determination, regional peace and the democratic will of the Venezuelan people, and deepen a long history of external interference in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The current aggression cannot be separated from a long history of interventions, sanctions and economic pressures linked to control over natural resources, financial flows and regional hegemony; every bomb dropped is a direct attack on human rights and the collective capacity of peoples to build democratic, just and sustainable economies.These imperial practices have no place in the 21st century and directly threaten democratic stability and the rights of working people across the region. Venezuelan working class and popular sectors are always among the first and hardest hit by blockades, sanctions and military interventions that destabilize the economy, destroy jobs and worsen precarious living conditions. The permanent and systematic blockade against Venezuela has already damaged its economy, institutions and people’s well‑being, and the current military aggression deepens this attack on workers, communities and the fabric of everyday life.

RIPESS fully endorses and amplifies the statement issued by the Red Iberoamericana de Fomento a la Economía Social y Solidaria (RIFESS) on the situation in Venezuela and the expression of profound concern about the escalation of tensions resulting from the use of force and armed actions that gravely affect state sovereignty, regional peace and the stability of Latin America and the Caribbean, and firmly rejects any military intervention as a way to resolve conflicts. We join the calls on multilateral organizations, especially the United Nations and regional mechanisms, to urgently act as guarantors of dialogue, international legality and protection of the civilian population, promoting political solutions that respect sovereignty and the right of peoples to self-determination. The many experiences of socio‑economic self‑organization and of struggle for economic, community and political sovereignty from the territories in Venezuela inspire movements globally and demonstrate that another way of organizing life and the economy is possible.

RIPESS joins the calls for:

  • Immediate cessation of bombing and all military operations against Venezuela, and a firm commitment by all states to peaceful, diplomatic and multilateral solutions.
  • Immediate liberation of the kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and full respect for the physical integrity and rights of all political authorities and civilians.
  • Lifting of coercive economic measures and blockades that collectively punish the population, destroy jobs and undermine the conditions for peace, democracy and social justice.

RIPESS reiterates its solidarity with the Venezuelan working class and the broader Venezuelan people, and with all communities affected by war, sanctions, debt and extractive projects in Latin America, the Caribbean and the world. The construction of peace requires dismantling the structures of economic domination and militarism, and advancing toward an economy rooted in solidarity, cooperation, democracy, workers’ rights and the care of life in all its forms.


Intercontinental Co-coordination and Executive Secretariat