Defending the Sovereignty of Venezuela

ByJosé Luis Granados Ceja

This month, after suffering months of systematic torture, indiscriminate beatings, sexual assault and medical neglect, over 252 Venezuelans unlawfully detained by the United States and sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison were finally freed thanks to the efforts of the Nicolás Maduro government.

The arrest and forced expulsion of the men from the US prompted lawsuits and protests inside both Venezuela and the US demanding their liberation. Also, protesting US lawmakers visited El Salvador, and, inside the Oval Office, a showdown with the press featured Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and US President Donald Trump.

In the end, neither the Democrats nor the US justice system secured the prisoners’ release from Nayib Bukele’s hell on Earth. It was the Maduro government, among the most vilified on the planet, who promised they’d find a way to free their people and they did.

Ultimately, the deal released the migrants who were flown to Venezuela in exchange for 10 US citizens and permanent residents in Venezuelan custody. Much of the bourgeois press, such as the New York Times, ever serving US imperialism, attempted to deny the incontrovertible fact that this was a massive diplomatic win for the besieged Venezuelan government.

Instead, authors Julie Turkewitz and Hamed Aleaziz claimed that Maduro was systematically “detaining and imprisoning foreigners late last year” to be used as “bargaining chips.” Never mind that those released for exchange by Venezuela had been detained based on serious allegations of illegal activity, such as involvement in destabilization plots. One prisoner was Dahud Hanid Ortiz, who confessed that he was behind the violent murder of three people in Madrid in 2016 and was awaiting extradition to Spain.

Venezuelans demand the safe return of Venezuelans illegally detained in El Salvador. (EFE) via Venezuelanalysis

The release of the migrants from CECOT is a testament to the implacable, adamant and obdurate defense of Venezuela sovereignty by the government and its people. If Maduro can be said to have wielded any bargaining chips in this negotiation, it was his government’s proven track record of never yielding to US bullying.

Venezuelans have, of course, paid a heavy price for their dogged defense of their right to determine their own political and economic model, but their dignity has remained intact.

The important lesson for Latin America is that playing nice with US imperialism only gets you so far. Washington will always throw its weight around; the bully will never be satisfied. As Mexico wrestles with an intemperate neighbor, the Claudia Sheinbaum government would be wise to learn from Venezuela’s experience in standing up to the US.

From tariffs to border closures and even efforts at controlling Mexican airspace, the Trump administration is deadset on squeezing Mexico in every way. Sheinbaum’s crafty negotiating has pulled Mexico back from the brink of a diplomatic disaster on several occasions but the status quo is untenable.

With Mexico hawks in the White House salivating at the notion of a direct attack inside Mexican territory, Sheinbaum must prepare now for a possible direct confrontation with US imperialism. The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela has shown time and time again the importance of understanding your enemy.

José Luis Granados Ceja is a journalist and political analyst based in Mexico City. He is co-host of the Mexican public television show Sin Muros, was staff writer with Venezuela Analysis, contributor to Drop Site News, and writes a monthly opinion column for the Mexico Solidarity Project and also co-hosts the Mexico Solidarity Project’s weekly podcast, Soberanía.