We begin 2026 with a rude reminder that we live in a different world where the rule of law and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty can no longer be assumed.
The military attack by the US on Venezuela and the capture of the oil-rich Latin American country’s leader, Nicholas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, has sent shockwaves around the world and brought into question the usefulness of such multilateral institutions as the UN and other bodies set up to resolve differences between countries.
Whatever one might think of Maduro’s politics, or the legitimacy of his claim to the Venezuelan presidency given the controversy that shrouded that country’s last presidential elections, what is clear is that US President Donald Trump’s actions are a flagrant violation of international law.
Trump’s declaration that the US will “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” doesn’t only smack of modern-day neo-colonialism but suggests the Trump administration sees itself to be above the law.
Venezuela’s vice-president and now acting leader Delcy Rodriguez reacted to Trump’s remarks by saying her government was “ready to defend our natural resources” and declared Venezuela “shall never be a colony ever again”.
This has obviously angered Trump, who has since warned if Rodriguez does not follow the US line “she’s going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro”. Chilling stuff.
The big question is what is the rest of the world going to do about this? It is not only about Venezuela but the principle of multilateralism and the creation of a rules-based world that is not run by might is right.
If the US is allowed to do as it pleases in the hemisphere under its influence, what stops China from doing the same in, say, Taiwan?
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin must be watching the developments in Latin America with glee, knowing they give his critics on his aggressive approach to Ukraine no real leg to stand on.
Closer to home, Trump’s actions in Venezuela raise pressing questions about our own country’s relations with the US and the steps SA needs to take to protect itself.
What measures are we taking as a country to insulate ourselves against whatever steps the Trump administration may want to take to punish us?
One is not suggesting the US is about to launch a military strike against a South African target or abduct our head of state. Far from it.
However, just like in the case of Venezuela where the US government has been selling a false narrative of the Maduro administration’s involvement in “narco-terrorism”, there has been a sustained campaign by Trump and his associates — aided by short-sighted right-wing South African formations — to portray our country as being engaged in a “white genocide”.
As a country, we have clearly rubbed the Trump administration the wrong way on international issues ranging from our association with China, Iran, Brazil and the rest of the Brics community to SA’s decision to haul Israel before the International Court of Justice on charges of executing a genocide in Gaza.
Hence the hostility and calls on the US to take punitive economic measures against our relatively young republic.
However, we are a sovereign nation and have every right to hold views that may be contrary to any other country, be they a super-power or an emerging economy.
The question, however, is what measures are we taking as a country to insulate ourselves against whatever steps the Trump administration may want to take to punish us?
Since becoming a true democracy in 1994, SA has never been shy to punch above its weight on international relations issues, often using the high moral high ground gained from defeating racist colonial rule, and its extension apartheid, as the basis for challenging injustices around the world.
However, in fighting those battles, the country has always been careful that it does so as part of global solidarity networks that made it impossible for those SA was challenging to isolate and victimise Pretoria.
Central to this strategy was taking fellow African countries, especially under the umbrella of the African Union, along with us.
Hence when former president Thabo Mbeki and his predecessor, Nelson Mandela, openly spoke out against the US invasion of Iran in the early 2000s, their voices were soon backed up by the AU.
There have been many instances in recent years when one has had reason to wonder if the administration in Pretoria is doing enough to ensure the rest of Africa is standing with us.
This is important because alone we are vulnerable.
If the recent experience of our exclusion from this year’s G20 processes are anything to go by, we cannot rely on European leaders, who were giving our country the highest praise in November, to stand up for us once Washington decides to strike.
One of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s preoccupations this year should therefore be to make as many reliable friends as possible, especially on our own continent.
Maybe then the Washington bully may be forced to stay away and limit his attack to the incoherent and untrue statements he usually puts on Truth Social about Mzansi.
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