By Ariana Hernández. / español
With the intention of reporting on the current situation in Venezuela, I can thankfully say that I am healthy, at home, with my family, and with stable services so far, although there is a great deal of tension that keeps me on high alert due to the events that unfolded since the early morning of January 3rd. This feeling of alarm I experience, due to the uncertainty of the information circulating on social media, is not unfounded. It is part of the daily work carried out by the prevailing system that manipulates content to its advantage through cognitive warfare, where the basis of opinion shapes individual consciousness from their immediate reality. This has been the process of new-generation warfare that elites have been employing for years, primarily the dominant US system, creating confusion among many people through disinformation, erasing the historical memory so necessary for people to maintain their autonomy, and generating more unrest among the population, making them more vulnerable. This is a geopolitical power struggle, as Trump clearly stated: “We’re going for Venezuela’s oil.” The United States has used the excuse of drug trafficking as a false narrative to criminally invade Venezuela, a script that has been repeated in other Latin American countries. This is not the first time we have seen these events, driven by the great interest in seizing the natural resources necessary to maintain their power, their empire, and their arms industry for the sake of war. Furthermore, it is a hypocritical discourse, since the black market for drugs is one of the major businesses in which the U.S. invests.
It is no secret that Venezuela has been a laboratory for the United States through various actions, such as the guarimbas (street protests), with drugs being one of the resources used by the US government to manipulate young people into carrying out violent actions within Venezuela, disrupting transportation, creating terror, and affecting the proper functioning of services, where millions of vulnerable people suffered the consequences. The excuse of drug trafficking to violate our rights is a farce. Trump’s hypocritical actions confirm this, by pardoning Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado (JOH), the former president of Honduras, against whom there was compelling evidence of involvement in drug trafficking.
The Venezuelan people reject acts of war. I am sure that, despite different political beliefs, most Venezuelan citizens prefer the path of peace, where our children can live without fear, where they can study and have access to a quality of life, instead of bombings, fear, and misery, because that is what war brings: setbacks for countries, death, and total decay. We want a country where the economy advances and does not stagnate (because this war also attacks us in that way), a country where we can live without fear and with full freedom to express who we are, working for the future. There is no doubt that we have been living through war for years, and it is not only armed conflict; this war is waged on different levels.
I don’t know why I’m still surprised to see how countries worldwide support my country, seeing news on Telesur where citizens and political leaders from Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, the United States, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay, Honduras, India, China, among other nations, have taken to the streets or appeared in the media against the violation of rights that Venezuelans are experiencing. They all agree on repudiating war, opposing bombing actions in Caracas and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. This is the unity for the sovereignty of our continent that has been lived for years through generations and peoples who have historically fought. There is no doubt that the people are the ones who suffer the most from the consequences of power struggles. The conflict continues; this is not going to stop because President Maduro has been kidnapped. Citizens must continue because we have to eat, we have to live, we have to move forward. There is also no doubt that what happened is a grave violation of international rights. Donald Trump’s actions are unacceptable; acting as he did destroys all forms of diplomacy, sovereignty, and national identity, erasing all sense of historically won struggles and would end the world as we know it today.
Acting as Trump did would turn the planet to ashes, an unsustainable place for human life. It is unacceptable to enter any territory on the face of the earth in this manner. The United States cannot be the owner of the world; it must not enter foreign territories to make decisions in contexts that do not concern it. No to war. Long live peace.
Ariana Hernández.
Communications staff person on a National U.S. Peace Advocacy Website. Sociologist specializing in Gender Violence Prevention and Sexual and Reproductive Health. Promoter of human rights and world peace.
05/01/2026