By Illinois for a World BEYOND War, January 7, 2025
Trump and his team of sycophants have bombed another country, killed people, and now kidnapped the President and First Lady of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi has boasted Maduro “Will face the full wrath of American Justice.” She ignores that fact that the more than 100 people killed on boats never even got the chance to face justice. They were killed without charges or a fair trial.
Conservatives and top Republicans generally praise the Trump capture of Maduro. And even “liberal” and “progressive” Democrats sometimes begin their comments with phrases telling us that Maduro is a brutal dictator.
Brutality needs to be put into perspective and context. Never is brutality a good thing. But if Maduro is a brutal dictator, what do we call the almost 600,000 lives per year lost as a result of U.S. sanctions? What do we call the 4.5-4.7 million lives lost as a result of U.S. wars since 9/11.
Brutality does not justify brutality. But as we’re quick to call Maduro a brutal dictator as part of a lame justification for an illegal act of war, let’s remind ourselves of the brutality of the U.S.
Illinois for a World BEYOND War condemns this unilateral, outrageous violation of international law, the attempts to intimidate other countries, and the imperialist threat to take their resources based on the lie that they belong to the U.S.
Al Mytty
Dylan Blaha
Georgann Hartzog
Jenny Holland
Illinois for a World BEYOND War
