Congress expresses 'grave concern' over Venezuela, Left parties denounces American 'aggression'

New Delhi: Congress on Sunday expressed "grave concern" on the actions by the United States relating to Venezuela while five Left parties strongly denounced the American “aggression” and said Donald Trump's statement that they will capture oil reserves in the Latin American country lay bare the "real intentions" behind the action.

Parties like Congress and the CPI(M) also found fault with the Modi government’s response to the developments in Venezuela, claiming that its statement did not even mention the US by name.

"The INC (Congress) expresses very grave concern on US actions relating to Venezuela in the past 24 hours. Settled principles of international law cannot be violated unilaterally," Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said in a brief statement.

CPI(M) found fault with the government statement saying "how low can you bow?". It accused the government of remaining "shamefully silent, unable to even criticise, let alone condemn Trump’s nakedly imperialist US aggression".

"The kidnapping of an elected President. The forcible takeover of a sovereign nation. Blatant violations of international law. Democracy being strangled before the world’s eyes. An openly declared agenda of capturing oil," it said. A senior Congress leader said the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs did not even mention the US.

A senior Congress leader said the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs did not even mention the US.

The Left parties, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML)L, RSP and All India Forward Bloc -- urged the Modi government to join the voices of countries across the world condemning the US aggression and stand firmly with Venezuela. It also called for “nationwide protests against US aggression and in solidarity with the people of Latin America”.

General Secretaries MA Baby (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-MLL), G Deverajan (AIFB) and Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP) said in the joint statement that the US action was an an attack carried out against a sovereign nation in blatant violation of the UN Charter.

"US President, Donald Trump, in his address stated that they would capture the oil reserves of Venezuela, laying bare the real intentions behind this aggression. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, went a step further and warned that Cuba and Mexico would be their next target," they said.

"These statements, coming days after the release of the US National Security Strategy 2025, make it clear that US imperialism seeks to impose its hegemony over the entire world, even if it means carrying out military attacks," the leaders said.

The US wants to impose the Trump corollary of the infamous Monroe doctrine that treats the entire Western Hemisphere as its backyard and run its writ, they said.

The leaders said that the reports coming from Venezuela indicate that the people are mobilising in large numbers against US aggression and in defence of their country’s sovereignty.

"We extend our wholehearted support and solidarity with the fighting people of Venezuela. We, the Left parties, call for nationwide protests against US aggression and in solidarity with the people of Latin America. We appeal to all peace-loving, anti-imperialist people of our country to mobilise in large numbers and actively participate in these protests," they said.