The Region in Tension Due to the U.S. Imperialist Bully in the Caribbean
By Isabelino Montes
The situation in the Caribbean once again exposes the contradictions of the imperialist order. Puerto Rico, subjected to a colonial status, is used once more as the spearhead for the United States’ military deployment. The colonial government, led by Jennifer González, acts as a puppet in Washington’s hands and participates in the repressive agenda promoted by Donald Trump both domestically and internationally.
Trump’s Message to the World
Under the slogan “Make America Great Again,” Trump and his allies aim to reaffirm the United States’ military hegemony in the region. The deployment against Venezuela seeks to make it clear that they rule this hemisphere, while simultaneously sending a warning to the new capitalist power led by China. U.S. imperialism relies on its old strategy: sow fear, display power, and justify repression under the guise of security.
In this context, Jennifer González represents the colonial face that whitewashes the historical atrocities of imperialism. Puerto Rico remains a military platform, legitimizing intervention in the name of supposed regional stability. Trump thus reinforces the most retrograde and arrogant policies of a country that seeks to impose itself as both judge and executioner over the rest of the world.
Drug Trafficking as an Excuse for War
To sustain this theater, they exploit the chaos generated by the capitalist system itself. Drug trafficking, a business they feed and finance, becomes the perfect excuse to justify new military incursions. Threats against Venezuela, rejected by the people, endanger thousands of civilians. Added to this is the classification of organizations like the Tren de Aragua or the so-called Cartel de los Soles as terrorist groups, paving the way for repressive operations such as the summary execution of eleven alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, without evidence or judicial process.
Militarism is not limited to the Caribbean. It is also deployed against protests in California, in support of ICE raids, on the streets of Washington, and with plans to expand to cities like Chicago. The military maneuvers in Puerto Rico now demonstrate that imperialism needs to display strength both within and beyond its borders to keep those who dare challenge it in check.
An Empire in Decline
None of this is accidental. It all reflects the decomposition of U.S. imperialism and its need to distract the world from its inevitable decline. Washington can no longer solve its internal problems nor sustain the hegemony it once held. The country is crumbling, and its military deployment has a clear objective: contain the advance of Chinese capital and prepare a new phase of capitalist accumulation.
This transition toward more automated production will leave thousands of workers unemployed and reduce working hours to increase capitalist profits. The repressive deployment, both inside and outside the United States, is not aimed at drug trafficking but at the working class. It is the prelude to a restructuring in which capital seeks to rise from its ruins by imposing, once again, the supremacy of capital over wage labor.
The False Opposition and the Workers’ Path
Democrats are not exempt from this game. They are complicit in the same imperialist struggle and represent the other side of the coin. The State as a whole prepares to contain social discontent and show the working class that its repressive capacity remains intact. Meanwhile, Washington negotiates with Maduro over the buying and selling of oil, while Chevron profits from shipments headed to the United States.
Amid this plot, the working class cannot be deceived by either Trump or Maduro. Both represent authoritarian projects that crush peoples to maintain the capitalist order intact. The alternative lies not in submission or resignation but in the international organization of the working class.
Against hypocrisy, authoritarianism, and foreign interference, the slogan must be clear and forceful:
No foreign interference, no authoritarianism, no hypocrisy from the governments of Maduro and Trump!
