(Photo: Getty Images)

The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) expresses its full solidarity with the people and workers of Venezuela and strongly condemns the illegal act of aggression ordered by President Donald Trump. It gravely threatens international law, regional stability, and the very foundations of the multilateral system.

Any military action against a sovereign state, without any UN resolution authorising such action, constitutes a clear violation of the UN Charter, including the prohibition on the use of force (Article 2(4)) and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of states. The abduction of a sitting president and public claims by the aggressor to “run” another country represent an unprecedented assault on the rules-based international order.

The United Nations system has rarely been under such danger. Normalising unilateral military action, regime change by force, and the disregard of UN processes erodes the collective security framework built after the devastation of the Second World War. This sets a dangerous precedent for all countries, especially in the Global South, where independence, sovereignty, and self-determination were won through hard-fought decolonisation struggles. It also fundamentally undermines international law as a collective safeguard against power-based coercion.

BWI warns that this course of action will further destabilise Venezuela and deepen a power vacuum in a country already battered by years of sanctions and economic hardship. History is unequivocal: externally imposed regime change and military intervention do not deliver democracy or social justice. The paths of Iraq and Libya, for example, show the consequences: state collapse, prolonged conflict, and immense suffering for workers and communities. Not a democratic transition.

The people of Venezuela deserve a democratic future built on peace, rights, and fundamental freedoms determined by their own will. Millions of migrants seek to return home safely, while construction union leaders remain imprisoned without due legal process. Workers’ rights and democratic guarantees must be restored to enable a credible path forward with economic prosperity.

The geopolitical and economic motivations behind this aggression are transparent. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Attempts to seize control over strategic resources through force are incompatible with international law and the UN principle that natural resources belong to the people of a country and must be managed in their interest.

This aggression poses a direct threat not only to Venezuela but to all of Latin America and to global peace and security. It risks igniting wider regional instability and normalising a world where power replaces law. Such reckless disregard for international law may encourage other powers to act accordingly, pushing the planet toward a new era of wars.

BWI therefore demands:

• An immediate end to all military actions and threats against Venezuela.
• Full respect for international law and the sovereignty of states.
• The restoration and strengthening of the United Nations system as the sole legitimate framework for addressing international disputes.
• Political solutions based on dialogue, self-determination, and the will of the Venezuelan people, free from external coercion.
• An end to measures that collectively punish workers and communities, including sanctions that exacerbate social and economic suffering.
• Reestablishment and strengthening of democracy in the country, with respect for due process and the freedom of construction union leaders.

Workers have no interest in war, resource grabs, or the destruction of international law. Our interest lies in peace, dignity, self-determination, and a multilateral system that protects people, not profits or power.

BWI stands with Venezuelan workers, with the peoples of Latin America, and with all those defending a just, rules-based international order.