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Venezuela is now 26 years into a people-oriented revolutionary process aimed at bringing first sovereignty and then socialism to the mass of the people.

But every step of its progress has been hampered by the bitter animosity and outright sabotage of the west. From suffocating sanctions to coups, invasion plots, assassination attempts and fascist street thugs, no stone has been left unturned to foil the Bolivarian process that was launched by President Hugo Chávez in 1999 and which has been continued for the last 12 years under the leadership of his successor President Nicolás Maduro.

As Venezuela gets ready to launch its new Comuna constitution, one that aims to shift the centre of power further from the hands of the rich and closer to the grassroots organisations of the poor masses, the country is once again under extreme attack. The USA has loudly branded it a “narcostate”, put a “bounty” on the head of its president and blown up small Venezuelan boats in international waters – taking imperial arrogance to brazen new heights.

But since we now know that the so-called ‘war on drugs’ (waged, we note, by the world’s biggest drug-pushers) has only ever been a pretext for aggressive imperialist military actions, what is really behind the redoubling of imperialist hostility toward this Latin-American nation? And how are the Venezuelan people responding to the latest threats of invasion?

Come and join us as we discuss the roots of the west’s relentless animosity towards Venezuela, the meaning of the country’s new constitution and more. We will hear back from two comrades, vice-chair Dan O’Brien and CC member Eleonore Koffi, who have just arrived back from a week in Venezuela.

While in Caracas and the nearby countryside, they spoke at the international conference of the World Anti-imperialist Platform, attended the launch of the Women’s Platform and visited several local communes. On their travels they met Venezuelan workers who are defiant in the face of US President Trump’s bellicose invasion threats, and they joined President Nicolás Maduro on a visit to a communal farm, where food sovereignty is helping to strengthen the people’s will to resist.

Chair: Joti Brar