By Elías Jaua Milano – Jul 20, 2026“Innocence does not kill the people, but it does not save them either; their conscience will save them, and I bet my soul on that.” — Alí PrimeraStill in shock after having suffered two continuous earthquakes, with our souls saddened by the compatriots who have died and been injured, moved by the pain of the relatives who are still searching for their loved ones, at least to give them a Christian burial, in solidarity with the anguish of the tens of thousands of families without homes, with all the pains of the world at once, we cannot stop talking and writing about the need to fight for the independence and dignity of Venezuela. In fact, the tragedy that strikes us today makes it more urgent.Taking advantage of the catastrophic situation, armed US troops have landed in La Guaira, warships have been stationed on our coasts, and Venezuelan airspace is daily violated by drones, planes, and helicopters of the occupying power. They have not rescued anyone, they have not assisted anyone, they only occupy, survey land, and control port and airport facilities. They humiliate.They announce lavish reconstructions alongside the Israeli government, whose principal leaders are facing well-founded accusations of evident genocide against the Palestinian people at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. A peaceful people like the Venezuelans, supportive, with a tradition of fighting for independence, peaceful coexistence, and the human cause, do not deserve this affront.This ignominy is aggravated by the silence of political leaders from all sectors with authorized spokespersons, with representation and responsibilities in the various State institutions, apparently more interested in presenting themselves as the best option to collaborate with the Trump administration’s colonization plan than in fulfilling their constitutional duty to preserve the integrity and dignity of the Republic.In these circumstances, those of us who deeply love our homeland, Venezuela, are obliged to decry, once again, that the government of the United States:exercises a colonial administration in Venezuela, commercializing our resources and appropriating our economic income, which is otherwise necessary for reconstruction after the earthquakes and for overcoming the precarious economic and social situation of the population in general. This is exacerbated by the imposition of a draconian and corrupt plan to pay the external debt, which compromises a high percentage of public finances for the remainder of this century.has violated the right to self-determination, imposing a political plan tailored to its annexation intentions.is carrying out a military invasion in our territory that began in August 2025, passing through the vile missile attack on January 3, 2026, with a toll of dead and wounded, continuing with several incursions and attacks in the following months, and is currently expressed in the landing of heavily armed soldiers and equipment in La Guaira, in June of this year, with the serious risk that this presence poses to the physical and moral integrity of the population, especially women, girls, and boys.forces the implementation of an extractivist neoliberal model that excludes the vast majority from the common good and will irreversibly damage our ecosystem.involves Venezuela in the scheme of its geopolitical war in the Middle East, with dangerous consequences for our security as a nation.Consequently, as a people, we must raise our awareness about the severity of the occupation and its consequences; and trust in our capabilities as a nation to promote a unified agenda that would allow us to:Recover the right to political, institutional, and legislative self-determination. Venezuelans must be the ones to democratically decide who governs us and what laws and institutions we need and want, within the framework of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.Recover economic sovereignty: freely trade with our resources and products, that it be the Venezuelan State that administers, under strict fiscal controls, the revenues from those resources for the common good and urgently, to overcome the economic and social consequences of the emergency caused by the earthquakes and a decade of economic chaos and brutal, unjust, and illegal sanctions.Demand the withdrawal of military troops and security agents from the United States and the State of Israel, and the cessation of any type of foreign military operation in Venezuela. The security of the nation is the responsibility of the Venezuelan State.Build a model and a plan for political, economic, and social development of inclusion and social equality, agreed upon by all currents of political thought.Exercise our right to have peaceful and cooperative relations with all the nations of the world that share the principles of humanity and international coexistence.Compatriots, they want to convince us that we are incapable of managing our nation, that the only way to achieve development and well-being is by being tutored or annexd by the United States government. This is completely false. It is necessary for the Venezuelan people to know that the United States neither creates nor brings about well-being for the vast majority in the occupied countries, something that is contrary to its doctrine.The Communities That Held Venezuela TogetherThis colonial administration will only establish enclaves for oil and mining extraction, with no economic benefits for the nation, no limits on the violation of the rights of the Venezuelan people, and with atrocious environmental destruction. The consequence will be the deepening and generalization of structural misery, as evident in all the countries occupied over the past decades.It is necessary and timely to alert that a process of gentrification and displacement of the local population will occur in La Guaira, so that the Trump family, its associates, and business partners can have the best land to develop a real estate enclave associated with port, airport, and tourist services. Surely this would also happen in some other coastal towns.The current circumstances demand that we do everything within our power to achieve a national agreement aimed at restoring our Republic, and to show that we can indeed build a democratic society here on Venezuelan soil, where we can all live with equality, justice, and dignity. The occupation by the Trump clan will only expand and structurally establish underdevelopment and misery. Only by regaining our national self-determination can we attempt, once again and as many times as necessary, to build a homeland that embraces the entire Venezuelan family, that is, a true Republic. It will be so. Let us fight! (Horizonte en disputa)Translation: Orinoco TribuneOT/SC/SH