TheANChas called for the immediate release of VenezuelanPresident Nicolás Maduroand his wife, Cilia Flores, condemning what it describes asUnited Statesaggression against Caracas. The party accused Washington of acting imperially and said it would work with progressive forces at home and abroad to defend Venezuelan sovereignty, amid ongoing tensions between South Africa and the US. While preparing for the party’s January 8 anniversary celebrations, ANC secretary-generalFikile Mbalulatold journalists on Tuesday that US pressure on Venezuela amounted to a direct assault on democracy and international law.
Mbalula framed the dispute as part of a global struggle against unilateral power. “Our understanding of what has happened to Venezuela can be summed up as nothing else but imperialist aggression,” Mbalula said, accusing the US of positioning itself as the world’s policeman. He referenced the ANC’s Freedom Charter, which calls for peace and friendship among nations, and said the party would collaborate with “all progressive forces” to counter what it views as interference.
Such actions should never be normalised or tolerated internationally, Mbalula said. His call comes after US forces captured Maduro and Flores in Caracas and brought them to New York to face federal charges, including narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking. Both pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance, with Maduro insisting he remains Venezuela’s legitimate president.
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A follow-up hearing is set for 17 March. Mbalula argued that sanctions and confrontational measures have severe humanitarian consequences and violate human dignity. “The African National Congress condemns the recent acts of aggression directed at the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which constitutes a serious violation of international law, national sovereignty, and the principles governing peaceful relations between states,” he said.
“The kidnapping of Comrade President Nicolas Maduro, his wife Comrade Cilia Flores, and son Nicolas Ernesto Maduro undermines the United Nations Charter and threatens global peace and stability at a time when the world requires cooperation, restraint, and dialogue.” ANC and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa also echoed the criticism, describing the US actions as unacceptable and also calling for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife. Speaking at the 31st annual Joe Slovo commemoration at Avalon Cemetery in Soweto, Ramaphosa said the ANC would continue its support for international countries just as the late anti-apartheid activist and communist leader had done in his time. Slovo who had served as commander of Umkhonto weSizwe, the ANC’s armed wing, during the struggle against apartheid, and was a housing minister in democratic South Africa, died on 6 January, 1995. He was praised as an internationalist who fought not only for South Africa’s liberation but also for oppressed communities across Africa and the world.
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