05/01/2026
SOUTH AFRICAN STUDENTS CONGRESS EASTERN CAPE STATEMENT CONDEMING THE SENSELESS KIDNAPPING OF VENEZUELEN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO BY THE USA GOVERNMENT
The South African Students Congress (SASCO) in the Eastern Cape unequivocally condemns the reckless, imperialist, and illegal actions of the United States Government in its continued attempts to dispossess, destabilise, and overthrow the democratically elected government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, led by President Nicolás Maduro. We further condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the brazen kidnapping, intimidation, and coercive treatment of a sitting Head of State of a sovereign nation an act that represents a gross violation of international law, diplomatic norms, and the principles of self determination.
These actions by the US Government are not new, nor are they accidental. They form part of a long, violent history of imperialist interventions against independent nations that dare to assert control over their own resources and political destiny. What President Nicolás Maduro Moros and the people of Venezuela are subjected to today mirrors the tragic fate of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, whose country was reduced to rubble under the false pretext of “democracy” and “human rights”, only for its oil wealth to be looted and its people plunged into permanent instability.
The contravention of international law by the United States has become systematic and normalized. From illegal sanctions, regime change operations, economic sabotage, political assassinations, to outright military aggression, the US continues to position itself above the United Nations, above international conventions, and above humanity SASCO EASTERN CAPEitself. This lawlessness exposes the hypocrisy of so called “champions of democracy” who only respect democratic outcomes when they serve imperial interests.
We draw clear historical parallels between the persecution of President Nicolás Maduro Moros and the brutal assassinations and removals of revolutionary leaders such as Patrice Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Saddam Hussein of Iraq. These leaders and their nations shared one common trait: they presided over oil rich and resource rich countries and dared to place the wealth of the land in the hands of their people. For this, they were demonised, destabilised, removed, or murdered and their countries left pillaged, fragmented, and exploited by multinational corporations and Western powers.
SASCO Ephondweni condemns the dangerous rise of Napoleon style dictators, such as Donald Trump, who are paradoxically products of democratic systems yet violently oppose self governance and sovereignty in the Global South. These leaders weaponizedemocracy as a slogan while practicing authoritarian imperialism abroad, denying other nations the very freedoms they claim to uphold.
We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the people of Venezuela, the Bolivarian Revolution, and all oppressed nations resisting imperial domination. An injury to one is an injury to all. The struggle against imperialism is a global struggle, and the liberation of Venezuela is inseparable from the liberation of Africa and the broader Global South.
As we confront these global injustices, SASCO Ephondweni also turns inward to its historic responsibility at home. We lament yet recommit ourselves to SASCO’s Right to Learn Campaign in the Eastern Cape. We call upon all branches, activists, and progressive students to go back to the communities, to serve the people, to defend public education, and to fight for access, transformation, and dignity. The future of this country lies in conscious, organised, and militant youth who understand that local struggles are inseparably linked to global struggles against exploitation and oppression.
SASCO believes that the struggles of students and workers in South Africa is linked tothe people in Latin America, Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela. SASCO emerges from the tradition of international solidarity, particularly the global support that sustained the South African liberation struggle. Just as progressive forces across the world condemned apartheid, SASCO has a moral and political obligation to stand in solidarity with oppressed nations facing imperialist aggression today.
