Civil society representatives gathered at the first People’s Brics Summit strongly rejected on Wednesday (3) the escalating threats from Donald Trump’s U.S. administration against Venezuela. Sources told BdF that Washington is once again fabricating pretexts to destabilize a government that refuses to fall in line with U.S. interests and controls the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
“Cuba is in complete disagreement with the militarization that the United States is currently carrying out in the Caribbean Sea, not only against Venezuela,” said Williams Mendoza Garcia, a member of the Cuban delegation.
“We know the so-called anti-drug narrative is a blatant lie, and that the real goal is to overthrow the government in Caracas. Everyone knows that the drug routes into U.S. territory come through the Pacific Ocean, not the Caribbean.”
He added that attacks on “innocent fishermen in small boats are unjustifiable. They have no connection whatsoever to Maduro’s government.”
“As a Cuban, coming from a country threatened by the U.S. for decades, I say to the Venezuelan people: do not believe anything the U.S. media says. That media is a tool used by the government to break spirits and discourage those who resist for a fairer world,” Garcia declared. “Resist. Believe in what you are doing. Defend your country, every people with dignity stands with you.”
Garcia stressed that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves are the true reason behind Washington’s aggression: “The U.S. wants unrestricted access to that ‘black gold.’”
Maria del Carmen Barroso González, coordinator of the Cuban Chapter of Alba Movimientos, echoed his remarks and reminded that during the second Celac Summit in Havana in January 2014, heads of state from all 33 member countries signed the Declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace. “We pledged to keep our region peaceful. It is our obligation to uphold that commitment,” she said.
Irina Kostetskaya, deputy director of the Infrasvyaz Foundation (Infoshare) and a member of the Brics Expert Council in Russia, also rejected Trump’s stated motives. “We do not believe this has anything to do with combating drugs, but rather with regime change,” she summarized. She noted that closer military cooperation between Caracas and Moscow may have fueled Washington’s hostility. “People in Russia are closely following these developments; we see the abuses committed by Washington.”
Solidarity was also expressed by members of the Iranian delegation. Shahin Fathi Hafshejani, of the Iranian Red Crescent, said: “We understand what Venezuelans are going through; we identify with them and stand in solidarity. Venezuelans are heroic for daring to confront the most powerful country in the world, which seeks to dominate them.”
The U.S. has intensified its threatening rhetoric by deploying thousands of troops and heavy military equipment to the Caribbean. More than 80 people have been killed in bombings targeting small civilian vessels, without Washington presenting evidence of drug trafficking, and in many cases without even identifying the victims.
Brazilian journalist Breno Altman, attending the People’s Summit, which brings together around 150 civil society representatives from 21 countries, argued that the Brics must take concrete action to prevent aggression against Venezuela. Otherwise, he warned, the bloc risks repeating the failure to stop the genocide in Gaza despite condemnations.
“Venezuela is the new test. An attack on Caracas is an attack on all of us, and a firm response has yet to come from Brics,” Altman said. “As long as we cannot confront the main strategy of the old world order, war and aggression, this counter-hegemonic bloc will not be a true opposition.”
