SanctionsKill: Statement on the recent US theft of a Venezuelan government plane

This was originally posted at sanctionskill.org/statement-on-the-recent-u-s-theft-of-a-venezuelan-government-plane/ September 11th and there are now 67 signatures.  Imagine if a country tried to seize Air Force One, or force it to make an unplanned landing, as the US and EU have done with Latin American presidential aircraft in recent years.  Imagine if a country did that with the Russian, Chinese, British, or Indian equivalent aircraft.  The US presumes to seize and try President Nicolas Maduro and other foreign leaders and diplomatic personnel, and supports attacks on diplomatic facilities.  Imagine the results if Mongolia [or South Africa?] had tried to seize President Putin recently and somehow extradite him to NATOland.  The BBC and others acted like that was a serious possibility.  They claim that this aircraft seizure was just a warning to the Venezuelan government.

Around September 14-15th Venezuela accused the US government and others of plotting to assassinate President Maduro and US citizens were arrested, including a military service member.  Spanish and Czech citizens were also arrested.  A new "Bay of Piglets" in the waning months of the Biden-Harris administration?

Statement on the Recent U.S. Theft of a Venezuelan Government Plane

You are invited to sign on to the following statement:

On Monday, Sept. 2, U.S. officials pirated a jet plane belonging to the sovereign country of Venezuela. The plane was in the Dominican Republic for servicing. The corporate media falsely reported that the plane was “owned by Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.” No, Venezuela owns the plane and uses it for travel by various Venezuelan officials, including the president.

The piracy of the $13-million airplane is the latest of a long list of material goods and money belonging to Venezuela that the United States government has stolen. These illegal seizures have accompanied over 900 Economic Coercive Measures – sanctions – that the U.S. has imposed on Venezuela during decades aiming to impoverish the population and overthrow the government.

Using sanctions as its pretext, the U.S. has seized Venezuela’s CITGO refineries and gas stations, and has frozen Venezuela’s $2 billion in gold reserves in London. Along with sanctions, Washington backed a military coup against Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez government in 2002; the coup failed. Throughout 2019 the U.S. and the European Union claimed a little known reactionary politician, Juan Guaidó, was Venezuela’s president and supported Guaidó’s coup attempts; these all failed and Guaidó was finally rejected by his own former supporters.

Now the U.S. government is trying to undermine the July 28 election of President Nicolás Maduro that has been announced and certified by the Venezuelan National Election Council (CNE) and ratified by Venezuela’s Supreme Court.

The U.S. also used illegal measures to justify the kidnapping and imprisonment of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, who had been making international agreements to purchase food for the people of Venezuela.

In December 2020 the U.N. General Assembly declared U.S. sanctions “contrary to international law, international humanitarian law, the Charter of the United Nations and the norms and principles governing peaceful relations among States.”

The piracy of the Venezuelan jet plane is the latest example of U.S. foreign policy based on self-serving “rules” in violation of international law. It clearly shows that Washington guides a rogue state.

The following organizations have initially endorsed this statement: SanctionsKill Campaign, Venezuela Solidarity Network, Friends of Latin America, Task Force on the Americas, International Action Center, The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), U.S. Peace Council, United National Antiwar Coalition – UNAC, Workers World Party, Socialist Action, Alliance For Global Justice, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Bronx Ant War Coalition,  Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees, Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund, Free Palestine Movement, Syria Support Movement, NakbaTour, One State Assembly, The Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights, Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste, Popular Resistance, Canadian BDS Coalition and International BDS Allies, Al-Awda the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, Committee of Anti-Imperialists in Solidarity with Iran (CASI), The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizations (IFCO), Asociación Americana de Juristas – AAJ, Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Casa Baltimore/Limay, Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition, National Lawyers Guild International

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