Kidnapping Democracy: Sovereignty Is Optional—Ask Venezuela
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 5 Jan 2026
Raïs Neza Boneza – TRANSCEND Media Service
Regime Change Rebranded as Due Process
4 Jan 2025 – The announcement by Donald Trump that Nicolás Maduro and his wife have been “captured” is being sold as a triumph of justice. In reality, it looks far more like a geopolitical smash-and-grab—one that treats sovereignty as a minor inconvenience and international law as optional fine print.
Let’s call it what it is: not a legal operation, not a heroic rescue of democracy, but a power move with a press release. A strongman’s magic trick—now you see a president, now you don’t.
A Nobel Prize as Political Air Freshener
In the power vacuum, it wouldn’t shock anyone if María Corina Machado, freshly crowned Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2025, were swiftly installed at the helm. The prize, presented as a moral halo, risks becoming a diplomatic deodorant—masking the smell of an operation widely viewed outside Western capitals as illegal, if not outright criminal.
Machado’s open alignment with Washington and Tel Aviv, and her political proximity to Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, make the choreography painfully transparent. The Nobel, in this script, doesn’t crown peace; it licenses intervention.
Applause in the West, Alarm in the World
In much of the so-called “collective West,” champagne corks are popping. In large parts of the Global South, however, the reaction is colder—and clearer. The reading there is not naïve: what happened in Venezuela looks less like justice and more like a warning label.
A warning to Iran, where protests—real, legitimate, and rooted in popular frustration—risk being instrumentalized into a regime-change operation. A warning to Russia, where proxy wars and assassination attempts are framed as “defensive measures.” A warning to China, staring down the crises of Taiwan and Hong Kong while watching Venezuela burn.
And yes, a warning to Africa—especially the pan-African, sovereign-minded states of the Sahel. The message is simple: if we can do this there, we can do it anywhere.
Who Can Do More, Can Do Less
Warships in the Gulf of Guinea don’t float there by accident. Oil, gas, uranium, gold, cobalt, coffee, cocoa—Africa’s resource map reads like a shopping list. Trump’s doctrine is brutally honest: submit to the dollar gods, or risk becoming the next “legal case” handled by U.S. forces abroad.
The so-called peace deals—like those surrounding Congo, brokered with European blessings and regional proxies—often read less like peace and more like contracts of dispossession. Peace, apparently, is what happens after the resources are secured.
Did Russia and China “Betray” Venezuela?
Short answer: no. Longer answer: sovereignty isn’t a subscription service. Venezuela has no mutual defense pact with Russia or China. Multipolarity doesn’t mean outsourcing your defense and waiting for Moscow or Beijing to fight your wars. It means building the capacity to defend yourself.
Russia sold air-defense systems. China shared intelligence. That’s the deal. When generals betray their own president, there is no army left to defend. This wasn’t an invasion—it was a delivery. An invitation, not an assault.
Oil, Always Oil
The narrative war followed instantly. A military action was repackaged as a judicial procedure. Then came the press conference: the U.S. would temporarily govern Venezuela, temporarily rebuild oil infrastructure, temporarily sell Venezuelan oil to the world.
Temporary, of course, in the same way colonialism was once “temporary.”
Sound familiar? “We will make Venezuela great again.” Iran heard the same line after U.S. bombs fell in 2025. History has a cruel sense of déjà vu.
The Real Crime
When Washington ran Venezuela for decades, oil flowed north and poverty spread south. When Hugo Chávez reclaimed oil revenues, literacy rose, healthcare reached the poor, and millions ate three meals a day. That, more than anything, was the unforgivable sin: setting a bad example.
And that is why this moment matters.
This is not just about Venezuela. It is a message broadcast loud and clear—from Latin America to Africa, from the Middle East to Asia:
Obey, or be removed. Resist, or be “arrested.”
The question is no longer who is next.
The question is whether the world will keep pretending this is law or finally call it what it is: colonialism, wearing a suit and speaking the language of justice.
____________________________________________
Raïs Neza Boneza is the author of fiction as well as non-fiction, poetry books and articles. He was born in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Former Zaïre). He is also an activist and peace practitioner. Raïs is a member of the TRANSCEND Media Service Editorial Committee and a convener of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment for Central and African Great Lakes. He uses his work to promote artistic expressions as a means to deal with conflicts and maintaining mental wellbeing, spiritual growth and healing. Raïs has travelled extensively in Africa and around the world as a lecturer, educator and consultant for various NGOs and institutions. His work is premised on art, healing, solidarity, peace, conflict transformation and human dignity issues and works also as freelance journalist. You can reach him at rais.boneza@gmail.com – http://www.raisnezaboneza.no
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Join the discussion!
We welcome debate and dissent, but personal — ad hominem — attacks (on authors, other users or any individual), abuse and defamatory language will not be tolerated. Nor will we tolerate attempts to deliberately disrupt discussions. We aim to maintain an inviting space to focus on intelligent interactions and debates.