NCBL Demands a Complete Revocation of Current US Policy, While Condemning the Latest Unlawful Actions Against Venezuela
- National Conference of Black Lawyers
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The National Conference of Black Lawyers unreservedly joins the institutions and organizations of civil society, individuals, and governmental bodies throughout the world in a full-throated condemnation of the brutal, unlawful, and illegitimate actions of the government of the United States of America against the sovereignty, government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. These actions clearly violate United States and international law.
The 3 January 2026 bombing of Venezuela that killed more than 80 people and the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and the first lady, Cilia Flores, by the United States are acts of war that compounded its previous violations of domestic and international law - the bombing of nonthreatening small craft in international waters without warning, the extra-judicial killing of their occupants, and the unlawful interference with ocean-going tanker ships. These actions alone were sufficient to warrant indictment in any court that has jurisdiction to apply customary and treaty-based international law to the acts of citizens of any nation state. The United States’ actions of 3 January 2026 in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, for which the President and other United States high officials have proclaimed their responsibility, are even more blatant and materially more extreme in their criminality.
The reality is that there is no such court, as a rogue state such as the United States has the ability to exempt itself from institutional accountability by the simple expedient of not acceding to the jurisdiction of a court - as the United States has done with respect to the International Criminal Court. The United States cannot be allowed to absolve itself of culpability for its piratical and belligerent actions through this unacceptable expedient.
The National Conference of Black Lawyers adds its voice to the demands for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the cessation of all aggressive United States activities against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the recognition of the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace as first set forth in 1979 and reaffirmed by Caricom in 2025. NCBL also joins in demanding the termination of extraterritorial application of domestic law, including those which effectuate the embargo and economic sanctions against the Peoples Republic of Cuba, and the renunciation of policies for the imposition of U.S. control over other nations of the Americas in violation of their sovereignty.
The unlawful actions authorized by President Trump constitute acts of war and violate the rights of peoples and nations to security not only in the Caribbean, but throughout the world, including in the United States. The security of the United States lies in peace and cooperation amongst nations. Only peace and cooperation are compatible with the just and free world for which we struggle.
The National Conference of Black Lawyers joins with protestors throughout the world and, in particular, supports those in the United States who assemble and petition the government to address these grievances and who remind members of the United States military of their constitutional and international legal responsibility to disobey unlawful orders.
The actions of 3 January 2026 reflect the growing authoritarianism that is the hallmark of the Trump Administration. The National Conference of Black Lawyers joins those who say NO! to this corrupt and vicious disregard for law and humanity. The National Conference of Black Lawyers stands with all peace and justice-loving peoples throughout the world in calling for an end to these acts of aggression.
