US Attack on Venezuela: Story of the Last Week
In the early morning hours of January 3rd, 2026, the United States attacked Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. What led to this? And what does it mean for us? What exactly happened in Venezuela? Around 2AM local time on January 3rd, the US airstriked against Venezuela. The main target was Venezuela’s capital Caracas and surrounding areas: Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. During this operation, US forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and took them to the US, where they were charged with drug trafficking. At the same time, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would “govern Venezuela until a safe transfer of power is possible.” The official pretext for Trump’s invasion was the alleged involvement of Maduro and his wife in drug smuggling from Venezuela to the US. Drugs do indeed flow from Latin America to the US, where they cause significant problems. Over 100 000 Americans die from overdoses each year. Still, although being part of this drug route, Venezuela is more of a transit country. Neighboring Colombia is a much larger source of drugs. This isn’t the first time Trump has used drug-smuggling claims to justify his controversial (and costly) projects. He previously used the same argument to defend building the US-Mexico border wall and his mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. The drug narrative is his way to rebrand geopolitical issues as domestic issues for his “America First” voters. And it is no different in the case of Venezuela. A more realistic reason is Venezuela’s oil reserves – the largest in the world. Trump had been pressuring Venezuela since his first term, but during his second term, he escalated. In March 2025, he raised tariffs on countries importing Venezuelan oil. Since September 2025, the US has been attacking Venezuelan ships that were allegedly smuggling drugs. For the same reason, the US have deployed a large fleet to the Caribbean, which was then used in the invasion. What´s the deal with Venezuela? After World War I, huge oil reserves discovery in Venezuela, led to an economic boom. Until the 1970s, Venezuela was the second largest oil producer in the world (after the US). At that time, Venezuela was ruled by dictator Juan Vicente Gómez (1908 – 1935). Although he managed to attract foreign investors (like Shell) with favorable business conditions (for them – not so much for Venezuela) and bring money for the modernisation of the country and building infrastructure, he was also very repressive (which attracted the investors, because a tough political regime = a stable regime). In the end, Venezuela earned only a fraction of what foreign companies earned from its oil. And most of this fraction ended up in the hands of a few – leaving most people poor. Venezuela’s economy also became too dependent on oil, which later backfired. Although Gómeze’s democratic successor, Rómulo Betancourt increased taxes on oil production to bring more profit for Venezuela, the dependence on oil remained. In 1973 Venezuela changed this dependence on profit. Together with other OPEC countries they deliberately fabricated so called “Oil crisis” by reducing oil production. This lead to higher oil prices and therefore bigger profit for themselves (supply determines demand) What is OPEC? OPEC = Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Its goal was to control oil prices and prevent Western companies from exploiting oil-rich countries. Today, OPEC has 13 members and decides how much oil is sold – and thus how much we pay for gasoline. In 1975, president Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974-1979, 1989-1993) nationalized the Venezuelan oil industry by creating PDVSA (Venezuela’s state oil company). This brought in more money,but also led to reckless spending, debt, and corruption. When oil prices crashed in the 1980s, Pérez implemented money-saving measures: cutting social spending, privatizing state companies, and raising prices. This led to the “Caracazo” protests, which Pérez brutally suppressed (killing hundreds). It backfired politically and helped his opponent, the charismatic Hugo Chávez (1999–2013), who promised to fix social inequality, rise to power. Chávez indeed reduced extreme poverty by introducing social programs like free healthcare, food subsidies, or low-income housing. But he also weakened democracy by centralizing power, changing the constitution to rule indefinitely, silencing opposition media… Like his predecessors, he relied on oil revenues – so when prices collapsed, Venezuela had nothing else to fall back on. But instead of adjusting spending in these times (like his predecessors), Chávez just printed more money. This seemingly covered up the problem and allowed him to continue spending on his populist projects. But it gradually plunged Venezuela into hyperinflation… After Chávez died, Nicolás Maduro came to power in 2013 – mainly due to the residual charisma of Chávez, who recommended him as his successor. Maduro himself did not have any of that charisma that would delude naive people to support his populist promises despite the ever-worsening economic situation. Imagine Chávez’s rule, but remove all the policies that had even a slight positive impact. What’s left is an authoritarian government, corruption, human rights violations (the UN reported 5,287 people killed for “resistance to authority” in 2018), rigged elections (2018), shortages of food and medicine, rising unemployment and crime, and millions fleeing the country. Given this, it’s not surprising that many Venezuelans currently welcome the US intervention. It has rid them of a dictator. But we shouldn’t forget to ask: Which person rid Venezuela of this dictator? Because that person is Donald Trump, who is far from a democratic leader himself. Since last year’s election, Trump has made a number of controversial decisions that undermine US democracy, both at home: and abroad: Moreover, Trump is a convicted felon for falsifying business records (making him the first convicted president in US history), and his name appears in the Epstein files. Does Trump have the (legal) right to do this? The short answer is: no. According to the United Nations Charter, “All Members shall refrain in their international relations
Soirée de lancement d’IR Media, un média associatif, international et féministe !
Samedi 8 mars à 18h à Radio WNE 53 av. Kennedy à Mulhouse Célébrez avec nous le lancement d’IR Media, un média associatif qui vise à vulgariser les relations internationales, l’histoire et la politique. ❓ Pourquoi le 8 mars ? Parce qu’il y a un an, ce jour-là, est née l’idée d’IR Media – et parce que le féminisme est l’une de ses valeurs fondamentales. Pourquoi « IR » ? Venez le découvrir à la fête ! ✨ Vous pouvez vous attendre à : une ambiance conviviale, des débats mouvants, un atelier de création de podcasts, du networking avec plein de gens intéressants – et, bien sûr, un petit quelque chose à grignoter !
Story of the Last Week: Ceasefire in Gaza
On January 15, 2025, Qatar confirmed the successful negotiation of a ceasefire in Gaza, bringing hope to a region devastated by ongoing violence. This agreement promises a temporary halt to hostilities and humanitarian relief for millions of affected civilians. But can this fragile peace lead to lasting resolution? The Roots of the Conflict After WWI, the Ottoman Empire which contained nowadays Israel and Palestine, collapsed. The victorious Allies ( decided to divide it into so-called mandates and administer them until they were able to self-govern. The part with current Israel and Palestine was administered by Great Britain as Mandatory Palestine. In 1947 the United Nations decided to end the British administration and divide Mandatory Palestine into Israel and Palestine. At this time there were already tensions between Jews and Arabs, once the British withdrew, war broke out at the end of which Israel controlled 2/3 of the Palestinian territory. However, the conflict continued. Between 1947 and 2023, various conflicts took place between Israelis and Palestinians, some of which even escalating into wars. The Recent Developpement On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing approximately 1200 people and taking 252 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a large-scale military operation in Gaza. Killing around 49,000 Palestinians, many of them being children, destroying local infrastructure, forcibly displacing 1,9 millions of people (so almost 90 % the population of Gaza) and creating a humanitarian crisis as these people lost an access to medical aid, clean water, food or education. Ceasefire in Gaza The ceasefire in Gaza was negotiated with significatn international involvement, particularly from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar. Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, officially announced the breakthrough on Wednesday, 15th of January 2025. The ceasefire came in force on 19 January and its terms include: This agreement offers a much-needed respite for Gaza’s civilian population, thowever it remains fragile, and its success depends on the commitment of both parties and sustained international pressure. Challenges Facing the Ceasefire in Gaza While the ceasefire is a welcome development, it is far from a resolution. Historically, ceasefires in this conflict didn´t last long, often collapsing into renewed violence. Key challenges include: What Does It Mean for the World? While it may seem that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved now – the months of violence finally come to an end and people from both sides return to their homes – it’s too early to celebrate. So far, only the first phase of the ceasefire has begun. The second phase is still under discussion. Plus the key question of how will Israelis and Palestinains coexist in the future remains unanswered… As much, as we would like to give you a happyend, we can´t (yet). What we can give you, however, are some predictions. It’s not ideal, but that’s the way it goes in history – sometimes you have to wait a long time for definitive results. In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we’ve been waiting since a 1947…