Ramaphosa Demands Maduro’s Release, Blasts US ‘Imperialist Aggression’

By Staff, Agencies

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa denounced US “imperialist aggression” against Venezuela, demanding the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Speaking on Tuesday in front of a Venezuelan flag at a commemoration for a late anti-apartheid activist in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said his government “reject[s] utterly the actions that the United States has embarked upon and stand[s] with the people of Venezuela.”

The South African president urged the United Nations Security Council to take “decisive action” in response to a grave violation of international law committed against Venezuela by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Ramaphosa also warned that the US military aggression had undermined Venezuela’s territorial integrity as a UN member state.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress [ANC] called on “progressive forces” worldwide to mobilize against “American imperialist aggression” targeting Venezuela’s sovereignty and natural resources.

Early Saturday, the US launched strikes across Venezuela, hitting military targets including Caracas and capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were flown to the US to face charges including “narco‑terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons trafficking.”

At Monday’s UNSC emergency meeting, the US action was widely condemned as a “crime of aggression.” Maduro, who denies the charges, appeared in a New York court, pleaded not guilty, and called himself a prisoner of war.

The US military intervention in Venezuela follows a long history of Washington’s interventions across Latin America, and many observers have described the recent operation as “naked imperialism.”

Speaking after Maduro’s abduction, Trump said “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again” and acknowledged a key aim of the operation was to bring Venezuela’s oil sector under US control.

Trump warned Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, that she would “pay a very big price” if she didn’t comply with US demands — even as she vowed to defend the country’s natural resources and insisted Maduro remains the legitimate leader.