ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says South Africa will not cower and allow unilateral actions by the United States to go unchallenged.
Mbalula, who was addressing journalists about the outcomes of the party’s recent national executive committee (NEC) meeting, said South Africa was ready to face the consequences should it be punished for the stance it has adopted regarding the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by the US military.
South Africa will not abandon its stance or change its views for fear of retaliation, he said. The ANC has called for Maduro’s immediate release while the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) urged the UN’s Security Council to take action against the US.
This comes three days after the Donald Trump administration conducted military strikes in Caracas which led to Maduro’s capture to the US.
Mbalula said it was wrong for Trump and his administration to attack countries with opposing paths toward development, ultimately threatening their sovereignty.
“That is ruthless and is beyond aggression. We cannot keep quiet when we see such an injustice being meted upon a people. We will campaign, mobilise and conscientise our people against the US’s imperialist aggression. We have nothing to engage on, because we and them do not share the same understanding of how things must be done.”
Even those that are ... outside the GNU have condemned what has happened in Venezuela and we have got a shared perspective and that is why we talk about building a popular front against imperialist aggression.
— Fikile Mbalula, ANC secretary-general
“If we are going to be punished by this administration because of our transformation laws, it is not something we will be prepared to retreat on. Some have said that what happened in Venezuela must happen in South Africa, how do you even wish for that madness to happen in a constitutional and democratic state?”
Mbalula criticised FF Plus leader Corne Mulder’s comments made on X, in which he opposed Dirco’s statement on the matter.
FF Plus and the ANC are part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) that has been governing South Africa since June 2024.
“We do have reactionary partners within the GNU and even here in South Africa and we are not party to that. GNU is not a melting pot. Corne Mulder and what he expresses is not a view that is shared by the progressive forces in South Africa.
“Even those that are ... outside the GNU have condemned what has happened in Venezuela and we have got a shared perspective and that is why we talk about building a popular front against imperialist aggression. This is because in our country, for whatever will happen to this nation, by the USA, there are people who are going to come upfront and support not only the ANC but national interest, defending our sovereignty. Corne Mulder will not do that like many others,” said Mbalula.
“Here we have a government of national unity that we coexist with reactionary forces in including Corne Mulder. We are with them in government. And then you come and say that a government of this nature, in a democratic state, must be isolated and attacked? For what?”
Mbalula relayed examples of the ANC adopting “an anti imperialist stance” on global conflicts.
“Our president travelled 10 hours to Ukraine and left from there to go to Russia. We never took sides or lost our voice even if others disagreed. We called for peace between the two countries. We have never folded our arms.
“When Iraq and Afghanistan were attacked, we condemned that. When the Palestinians were being annihilated by the Israelis, we advocated for a two-state solution and condemned the genocide and the killing of innocent people.
“We condemned equally the actions of Hamas in terms of kidnapping people. When innocent people were killed in Palestine we went to the International Court of Justice [ICJ] to bring an end to that barbaric war and genocide.
We have never lost our voice, we have used our voice not to dominate others, but to persuade and use our voice to advocate for peace in the world. That has never stopped, and that will not stop now
— Mbalula
“We have never lost our voice, we have used our voice not to dominate others, but to persuade and use our voice to advocate for peace in the world. That has never stopped, and that will not stop now.”
The ANC’s critics have accused it of hypocrisy in that it did not call out Russia when that country invaded Ukraine, not did it call for the UN to intervene.
When asked whether South Africa would be ready to defend itself should similar force be imposed against it, Mbalula argued that the issue was not readiness of defence, but that South Africa rejects militarism. He acknowledged that the US was a powerful force militarily and can invade any country it wishes to. He said the ANC believes the real reason behind Maduro’s capture was not what is purported by Trump, but that there were underlying motives.
“Their military action against any other state is nothing but aggression. They are very powerful but we cannot cower and allow unilateral actions to go unchallenged by progressive forces across the globe.
“We know their stance against Venezuela and why they wanted Maduro to be arrested. The key and primary reason is oil. They are going to send their companies there and will distribute that oil as they wish to everybody. Therefore, they impose regime change in Venezuela and charge and kidnap a sitting president.”
ANC cannot speak on behalf of SA: Mulder
In a statement, Mulder said the ANC cannot speak on behalf of South Africa regarding the events in Venezuela or its foreign policy. He said the Freedom Front Plus has repeatedly pointed out that the ANC’s ideologically driven anti-Western policy does not reflect the sentiments of all South Africans.
“The FF Plus welcomes the actions of the United States against the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The free world is under a moral obligation to act against countries with autocratic governments where human rights are trampled and criminality cannot be separated from policy,” said Mulder.
“The Irish philosopher and politician Edmund Burke rightly said that evil triumphs when good people do nothing to stop it. While the US actions are now being condemned from various quarters — especially from South Africa — it can rightly be asked why these critics remained silent for years while the people of Venezuela suffered under an illegitimate head of state and a regime without recognition."
Mulder said the ANC was conveniently grasping at international law to act against the US, while it itself failed in 2015 to comply with the same international law by executing a court order regarding the arrest of Omar al-Bashir.
“This is dishonest.”
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