Stephen Cho | Coordinator of the Korean International Forum
On January 3, the world has awakened. US imperialism invaded Venezuela, and the people have become even more conscious. Imperialism cannot exist without plunder and invasion. The United States proved this by openly declaring the seizure of oil shortly after. The people of Venezuela, the peoples of Latin America, and the peoples of the world are rising. US imperialism achieved temporary, tactical victories, but it has accelerated its permanent, strategic defeat. This is the inevitable conclusion of the January 3 operation―“Operation Absolute Resolve.” On this very day in history, Manuel Noriega of Panama was captured, and Qasem Soleimani of Iran was assassinated. Yet, through these imperialist crimes, the United States has become further isolated, and the anti-imperialist consciousness and spirit of resistance among the people have strengthened—not only in the countries directly affected, but globally. The awakened people are never defeated.
1.
Two facts have recently been confirmed. On January 3, the US Department of Justice removed the “Cartel of the Suns” charge from its indictment against President Nicolás Maduro. What does it mean to pin such a charge on the foreign president to launch a military operation for his capture, and then drop that very charge at the moment of actual prosecution? Even for the brazen Trump administration, this was apparently too far to go. While repeatedly stating falsehoods may make them appear true, it confirms that such claims cannot withstand the strict standards of a court of law. If, by chance, a situation like the debate between Georgi Dimitrov and Hermann Göring at the Leipzig Trial of 1935 were to occur and result in acquittal, the fallout would be disastrous. With this move, the US government has completely forfeited even its flimsy flimsy pretext.
On January 6, the US government announced it would seize and sell 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. The Trump administration is no longer hiding its hand regarding the January 3 operation. For the ruling party to win the November 2026 midterms, oil prices are the ultimate key. Due to the fallout of the “tariff wars,” the administration’s approval ratings have fallen to the 30s—not just because of the weakening dollar’s hegemony, but because of soaring prices. Ultimately, what voters feel in their bones are oil prices, inflation rates, and stock prices. To keep the “AI Bubble” from bursting, they must cut interest rates to save the stock market; and since they cannot stop inflation, they attempt to offset it with $2,000 stimulus checks. In the end, what remains is the oil prices, and the outcome of the election is now being determined by how far oil prices can be pushed down. The Trump administration’s entire focus is concentrated on electoral victory politically, and on lowering oil prices economically.
In November 2025, the United States released its National Security Strategy (NSS). This document lays out the Trump administration’s strategy and tactics—in other words, its objectives, means, and methods. Its essence can be summarized up in a single phrase: a shift from the “Indo-Pacific Strategy” to a “New Monroe Doctrine.” Simply put, realizing it is no longer feasible to control the entire world, the United States has decided to secure firm control over its own “backyard,” the Western Hemisphere and the Americas. Accordingly, it aims to wrap up the war in Ukraine in Eastern Europe—much like the “Gaza Peace Plan” in West Asia (the Middle East)—and in East Asia, to manage China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in order to avoid wars in Taiwan and the ‘Republic of Korea (ROK),’ while turning the Americas into the US “backyard.” That is, the United States has shifted its strategy from Eurasia to the Americas. The change in its NSS reflects not the US strength, but its vulnerability.
This is why, since taking office, the Trump administration has sought to negotiate with Iran and Russia and to initiate dialogue with China and the DPRK, while at the same time, in the “Western Hemisphere,” asserting claims over the Americanization of Greenland, the transformation of Canada into the 51st US state, the ownership of the Panama Canal and a monopoly over Venezuelan oil. To that end, it has identified Venezuela as the essential factor in enforcing its strategy and went ahead with the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro. US imperialism strikes anti-US, anti-imperialist states in different ways: it attacks Venezuela militarily through the kidnapping of its president; it is hammering Brazil economically by imposing 50 percent tariffs. By contrast, it has thrown its weight behind pro-US, pro-imperialist Argentina providing a $20 billion currency swap to ensure that pro-US fascist forces emerge victorious in their elections. By actively interfering in the presidential elections of Honduras and Chile, Washington is accelerating the “Blue Tide” in Latin America.
The United States has established non-interventionism in Europe and Asia and interventionism in the Americas as its basic policy lines, and is strongly putting them into practice. The redeployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, previously operating in the Mediterranean, to the Caribbean for strikes against Venezuela was part of this effort. The United States is withdrawing its military force from Eurasia and shifting it toward the Americas. In the months surrounding the announcement of its NSS, the place where the United States has focused its attention and capabilities is Venezuela, which is the frontline of Latin America. The Trump administration is moving in line with the NSS.
The transition from unipolarity to multipolarity means that the power of China and Russia is becoming as formidable as that of the United States. Trump, being quick-calculating and pragmatic in everything he does, knows full well that he cannot win a fight against China and Russia. He is well aware that the United States has degenerated into an imperialism in chronic crisis—an old, toothless lion—with a national debt of 38 trillion dollars and annual interest payments exceeding its defense budget. Now, before even its remaining claws are worn away, he regards that the best course of action is to delay the decline of US hegemony by using its still-superior naval power to seize oil tankers and by coercing vulnerable small nations.
And China and Russia are more accurately than anyone else reading both the situation and the inner intentions of the United States. While China and Russia learn strategy and tactics by enjoying Go and chess, the United States only knows poker, relying on little more than bluffing, it is said. Therefore, it is not difficult for China and Russia to see through the US bluff. It did not take long for Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to grasp Trump’s “Art of the Deal.” For instance, it is a recognized fact that at the APEC summit held in the ‘ROK’ in late October 2025, China emerged victorious in the trade war against the United States by leveraging its rare earth elements. This is why Trump declares that China is the main enemy and initiates a “tariff war,” yet primarily beats down his own allies while shrinking back when actually facing China.
Trump’s “New Monroe Doctrine,” also known as “Donroe Doctrine,” is a tantamount to a declaration that the bluffing against China and Russia is no longer of any use—and that it will no longer be attempted. It means Washington intends to bet only on the Americas with the chips and cards it currently holds. In other words, this signifies that it will not intervene in Russia’s consolidation of Ukraine or China’s incorporation of Taiwan. Of course, historically, the Novorossiya region of Ukraine and Taiwan were parts of Russia and China, respectively, but no one in the world views Venezuela as a part of the United States. As the United States moved toward a sudden invasion of Venezuela, China’s push toward a reunification war with Taiwan is gaining momentum. China urgently organized a three-day encirclement exercise of Taiwan from December 29 to 31, 2025, which was akin to a final rehearsal.
2.
World War 3 is already underway. The storm of World War 3, ignited by imperialism, has swept from Ukraine in February 2022, through West Asia in October 2023, and is now blowing toward East Asia. Had it not been for the war deterrence and strategic patience of the DPRK and the heroic uprising of the ‘ROK’ people, the war in the ‘ROK’ would have erupted. The war in the ‘ROK’ immediately spills over into the war in Taiwan and expands into a war in East Asia with the participation of Japan and the Philippines. Once a war in East Asia breaks out, World War 3 will enter its full swing.
In August 2023, the leaders of the United States, Japan, and the ‘ROK’ gathered at Camp David to effectively form an “Asian version of NATO.” To operationalize this “Asian version of NATO,” the trilateral joint military exercise “Freedom Edge” was conducted in June 2024. In July 2024, the imperialist camp held the NATO Washington Summit, finalizing the political preparations for the “Pacificization of NATO.” Its military preparations were simultaneously completed through a series of joint exercises from June to August 2024, including “Freedom Edge,” “RIMPAC,” and “Ulchi Freedom Shield.” So, the consistent sequence of events immediately thereafter—the invasion of Kursk against Russia in August, the concentrated strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, the military offensives including drone attacks on Pyongyang from September to November, and the military coup in the ‘ROK’ in December—cannot be a mere coincidence. In December 2024, the imperialist camp succeeded in toppling the anti-imperialist Assad regime in Syria.
With Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in November 2025, the contradictions within the imperialist camp are accelerating. Even conservative media recognize the contradictions within the imperialist camp, referring to them as the contradiction between the so-called “Globalists” and the Chauvinists, and treat this matter with serious concern. Yet, strangely, the Globalists are proving to be even more bellicose than the Chauvinists. It is the Globalists who ignited the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, and it is also the Globalists who are seeking to spark a war in East Asia.
The traditional political spectrum of the Globalists falls within the right-wing social democracy, while that of the Chauvinists belongs to conservatism. Generally, conservatism has been more bellicose due to its direct ties with the military-industrial complex, but now the situation is the opposite. Within the US Republican Party, the Neocon forces have been almost purged.
The essence of chauvinism is social exclusivism. It does not respect “differences” and seeks to eliminate “otherness.” The Chauvinists as distinguished from Globalists are chauvinists in a narrow sense. Globalists themselves are chauvinists in a broad sense, because it is the Globalists who are the main forces behind the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, deploying Ukraine’s chauvinist Neo-Nazis and Israel’s chauvinist Zionists at the forefront.
Fascism is the representative political expression of chauvinism. If the persecution of foreigners is seen as its lowest-level symptom, then war against foreign states is its highest-level symptom. While German Nazis in the past escalated the persecution of foreigners to the point of mass murder in Auschwitz, today’s Chauvinists have, at least for now, not reached that level. However, regarding war policies, the Globalists have already surpassed even the Nazis through the wars in Ukraine and West Asia. In fact, the Globalists have put forward the descendants of Bandera—the most vicious pro-Nazis in history—at the forefront of the war in Ukraine, and have likewise deployed the most notorious Zionists for the war in West Asia. In other words, while the Globalists, through their cunning proxy wars, have already carried out war against foreign states—the highest expression of fascism—at the level of the Nazis of the past, the Chauvinists have, at least for now, not yet carried out the persecution of foreigners—the lowest expression of fascism—at the Nazis’ level. For the Globalists to denounce the Chauvinists as fascists is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Today, for the Globalists—the most bellicose forces within the imperialist camp driving World War 3—the existence of Trump, the leader of the Chauvinists, is a thorn in their side. It is by no means a coincidence that the assassination attempt on Trump occurred on July 13, immediately after the NATO Washington Summit in July 2024, where war preparations were vigorously accelerated. At that time, Globalists were openly inciting the assassination of Trump, and the attempt on his life was neither the first nor the last. The assassination of Charlie Kirk, often referred to as “Little Trump,” on September 10, 2025, must be understood in the same context.
The Globalists wish to eliminate Trump and his forces not because they are anti-imperialist, but because they are anti-globalist. Trump and his followers are not anti-imperialist forces; they are imperialist forces. However, these two major forces within the imperialist camp have now reached such a hostile stage that they must eliminate one another to survive. For instance, the US chauvinist regime is mobilizing the National Guard in the US cities controlled by Globalists. Meanwhile, the Globalists have gone as far as producing the film “Civil War” to openly declare their intent to kill the president attempting a third term. That the contradictions within the United States are spiraling toward a civil war is an objective phenomenon acknowledged even by conservative media in the United States.
Historically, the United Kingdom adopted non-interventionism in continental European conflicts as its primary diplomatic strategy. At the same time, it strengthened its dominance and interference over its colonies, such as South Africa, India, Australia, and Canada. Imitating this diplomatic policy, the United States put forward the “Monroe Doctrine”—a plan to refrain from intervening in the affairs of all of Europe, including including the United Kingdom, while turning Latin America into its own “backyard.” The diplomatic history of the United States is nothing other than a process of alternating between “non-interventionism” and “interventionism” to serve its national interests and imperialist greed.
It is inherent nature of imperialism: intervention when strong, non-intervention when weak. In the present day, the United States has no power to encompass the entire world and intervene in every issue. In this multipolar era, it is actually logical for the United States to designate the Western Hemisphere, including Latin America, as its own “backyard” and focus its efforts there. As long as the United States remains imperialist, it can never abandon its ambition to expand its territory and strengthen its dominance by any means necessary.
Precisely at this point, a fundamental difference arises between Globalists and Chauvinists within the United States regarding their objectives and the means. In this sense, the emergence of MAGA was inevitable. “Make America Great Again” implies that America is no longer great, and “America First” is another concept for non-interventionism. Therefore, within MAGA, a split is bound to occur regarding the scope of non-intervention: whether it applies “outside the American continent” or “outside the United States.” Indeed, the invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro have ignited such debates, and these internal conflicts are intensifying further. As the Trump forces draw closer to war, they will face domestic and international accusations of being just “Another Deep State,” “chauvinists no different from the Globalists,” and “unprecedented fascists.”
The imperialist Trump forces are limiting the US national strategy to the Western Hemisphere, including the Americas and are mobilizing all national capabilities to achieve this goal. This is why it is no coincidence that Trump administration invaded Venezuela yesterday to pressure the Rodriguez government and are pressuring the Danish government today to seize control of Greenland.
3.
While World War 2 was a confrontation between the anti-fascist camp and the fascist camp, World War 3 is a confrontation between the anti-imperialist camp and the imperialist camp. Nazi Germany not only attacked the socialist Soviet Union but also occupied other imperialist nations like France, and attacked the UK and the United States. This made it possible for the socialist Soviet Union and the imperialist United States and UK to form a united front under the common goal of anti-fascism.
However, as the history following World War 2 proves, this was not a permanent strategic united front but a temporary tactical united front that lasted until the defeat of the fascist forces. To deny the necessity of such a tactical united front is the error of Trotskyite left-wing deviation and “leftist closed-doorism.” Conversely, to mistake a tactical united front for a strategic united front is the error of Eurocommunism-style right-wing deviation and “rightist open-doorism.”
Eurocommunism is communism in name only; in terms of the political spectrum, it is merely at the level of the social-democratic left. Social democracy—not only its right wing but also its left wing—is revisionist and opportunist, having no connection to revolution, and is essentially counter-revolutionary. It is not surprising at all that the recent social-democratic left in Europe, following the social-democratic right, is being denounced as the “Zionist Left.” The Globalists and imperialist warmongers, centered on the social-democratic right, are putting their all-out efforts into instigating war, making the intensification of World War 3 their top priority.
From a strategic and tactical standpoint, the communist forces within the anti-imperialist camp must draw in the social-democratic left to form a tactical united front. At the same time, they must deepen the contradiction between Chauvinists and Globalists through tactical cooperation with Chauvinists. Tactical cooperation does not mean joining hands in solidarity like a tactical united front; rather, it means focusing on preferentially striking the common enemy regarding the issue of war—the most critical issue of the current period. Even in this case, it is natural and necessary to simultaneously wage struggles against fascist policies domestically and imperialist policies internationally whenever they are implemented. Maintaining the independence of communist forces while promoting broad unity and solidarity under the banner of anti-imperialism—and simultaneously facilitating divisions within the imperialist camp—is the most important strategic and tactical principle of this period.
It was during the period of World War 1 that communist forces established the first socialist state, and it was after World War 2 that they formed the socialist camp and a pro-socialist national liberation camp on a global scale. History proves the truth that World War 1, which was an imperialist war, and World War 2, which began as a war between imperialists but ended as an anti-fascist war, served as the optimal opportunities for strengthening communist and anti-imperialist capabilities.
It is a scientific prospect that the ongoing World War 3 will culminate in the defeat of the imperialist camp and the victory of the anti-imperialist camp, leading to a dramatic strengthening of communist and anti-imperialist forces. However, to realize this, there must be strategy and tactics as an integrated system of objectives, means, and methods. Without a doubt, the anti-imperialist camp is operating systematically under such scientific strategy and tactics. The anti-imperialist camp is overwhelming the imperialist camp in every aspect: justification, capability, and operations.
On September 3, 2025, through the Victory Day parade held in Beijing, China, the world objectively confirmed who the three main forces of the anti-imperialist camp are and the extent of their might. The earlier victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, and the military parade in Pyongyang, the DPRK, on October 10, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Party’s founding, also fully demonstrated the military power of the anti-imperialist camp. Not only Russia, but also China and the DPRK are all nuclear-missile superpowers armed with hydrogen bombs and hypersonic missiles. No imperialist nation dares to wage war against these anti-imperialist military powers.
Today, the representative battlefields of World War 3 are two: Eastern Europe, centered on Ukraine, and West Asia, including Palestine. East Asia, encompassing Taiwan and the ‘ROK,’ is where a conflict is imminent. In this sense, they are referred to as two major battlefields and three major battlefields. Regarding the primary theaters of World War 3, the strategically important point is that the United States can no longer achieve simultaneous victory on two battlefields. The wars in Ukraine and West Asia prove the truth that the United States has failed to win even one, let alone two. In fact, after World War 2, the United States has never once won on two fronts simultaneously, despite its grandiose rhetoric. In this regard, it is only natural that the Trump administration’s national security strategy shifted its focus from Eurasia to the Americas, choosing the “New Monroe Doctrine” over the “Indo-Pacific Strategy.” This is a declaration that the United States will no longer engage in bluffing, such as the “Win-Win Strategy” (simultaneous victory in two theaters), whose impossibility is now known to the entire world. It is an expression of will, a “absolute resolve,” to maintain a firm grip on the immediate vicinity of the United States—regions where China and Russia cannot yet dispatch nuclear carrier strike groups, especially the Caribbean and Latin America.
Therefore, under the current conditions where the US strategy has been confirmed, the anti-imperialist camp, including China, the DPRK, and Russia, has no reason to delay a decisive offensive any longer. In strategy and tactics, impatience is a problem, but a wait-and-see approach is also a problem. This is precisely why China hurriedly conducted Taiwan encirclement drill in late December as if it were a final rehearsal. Immediately after the US invasion of Venezuela on January 3, the DPRK also conducted a hypersonic missile launch drill on January 4 under the direct command of Chairman Kim Jong Un, shielding the anti-imperialist nation and warning imperialist United States. The hypersonic missile Hwasong-11Ma, which is to be equipped with tactical nuclear warheads, is reported to be mounted on the DPRK’s nuclear-powered submarine, the construction of which is nearing completion. For China, the economic importance of Iran is incomparably vast. As Iran faces its greatest crisis due to “Color Revolutions” with the US imperialist economic blockade, the Taiwan encirclement drill must be seen as carrying a message of international solidarity not only for Venezuela but for Iran as well. On January 8, Russia also launched the formidable hypersonic missile “Oreshnik” at Europe’s largest gas storage facility in Lviv, Ukraine. This attack took place immediately after Putin’s residence was attacked, President Nicolás Maduro was kidnapped, and the “Coalition of the Willing” announced it would dispatch troops to Ukraine following a peace agreement.
Everything is connected. As the United States invades Venezuela and pressures Iran, the possibility of a war over Taiwan by China is increasing accordingly. Since a war in Taiwan will immediately and unconditionally expand into a war in the ‘ROK,’ the United States must have strategic and tactical preparations for both fronts. As the Trump administration adopts the “New Monroe Doctrine” as its national security strategy and moves deeply in that direction, its policy of non-intervention in wars in Taiwan and the ‘ROK’ has become more clear. In other words, the “First Island Chain”—stretching from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines—is no longer the primary line of defense for the United States. One must take note of the fact that China’s aircraft carrier group once again broke through the First Island Chain last December and moved northward, threatening Japan. Observations are gaining further weight that while the United States may be able to defend Japan and the Philippines, it will withdraw and refrain from intervening in Taiwan and the ‘ROK,’ which China and the DPRK regard as matters of vital importance.
China and the DPRK are likely conducting a final review of whether the US non-intervention policy is an “inducement to war” or a “deceptive tactic.” Looking back, the statement made by the DPRK in October 2024—“That time is not decided by us”—was an expression directed at the potential invasion by US imperialism, while also hinting at China’s level of readiness. This is the reason why the DPRK which has completed all military and political preparations since the declaration of “subjugation” at the Supreme People’s Assembly on January 15, 2024, continues to maintain its strategic patience. On January 10, the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army disclosed the infiltration of ‘ROK’ drones into the DPRK territory and issued a grave warning regarding the risk of armed conflict.
Following the success of the military parade on September 3, 2025, and the victory in the China-US economic battle in late October, China appears confident that its military and economic preparations are complete. This confidence was reaffirmed by China’s strong anti-Japanese actions following the bellicose anti-Chinese remarks of Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, who, after taking power, shouted “A Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency” to boost her low approval ratings alongside her “Sanaenomics” economic stimulus. On January 4–7, 2026, China invited the ‘ROK’ president to draw him in diplomatically while simultaneously dealing military and economic blows to Japan through sanctions on rare earth elements. In short, military and diplomatic tensions in East Asia are skyrocketing. The year 2026 holds a higher possibility than any other year for the explosion of the war in East Asia.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out. The fascist forces intended to seize Spain and then march toward France, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe—and consequently, that is what happened. Now, 90 years later, the 2026 invasion of Venezuela has occurred. The imperialist forces aim to seize Venezuela and then expand their reach to Cuba, Central America, and South America. The difference between the two is that this time, the outcome will be different.
During the Spanish Civil War, the International Brigades were organized under the leadership of the Comintern. Under the slogan “¡No Pasarán!,” they fought a heroic three-year defense of Madrid. Although Spain eventually fell under fascist rule, the communists and anti-imperialists of the International Brigades who fought there made a crucial contribution to the victory for the anti-fascist forces in World War 2 and later became the core forces of revolutions in their respective countries. As long as one struggles alongside the people under the banner of justice, there may be temporary and tactical defeats, but there is no permanent or strategic defeat.
The banner of justice in our era is anti-imperialist independence. Anti-imperialist independence is People’s Democracy, and the united people will surely prevail. Nicolás Maduro, the anti-imperialist fighter and people’s leader born of Venezuela, is a hero of our time. US imperialism may imprison Maduro’s body for a moment, but it can never, for all eternity, break his spirit. History will declare Maduro’s innocence, and he will surely return to the arms of the Venezuelan people. The film “Nicolás,” which depicts the life of the revolutionary Nicolás Maduro, has only seen its dramatic tension intensified by the appearance of the villain of the century, Trump. Beyond Venezuela, the people of Latin America and the world are shouting the mass slogan “Free Maduro!” alongside the strategic slogan “Down with Imperialism!” as they move forward in the anti-US and anti-imperialist resistance.
US imperialism, intoxicated by temporary and tactical victories, fails to see its own permanent and strategic defeat. Since the dotard “Paper Lion” has fallen into fatal arrogance, its downfall is only a matter of time. The deeper the darkness, the closer the dawn. Venezuela is the ‘ROK,’ and the ‘ROK’ is Venezuela. Venezuela is Latin America, and Venezuela is the world. Communists, anti-imperialists, and the struggling people will resolutely block the passage of imperialism at the first line of the anti-imperialist front: Venezuela. Victory belongs forever to the struggling and united people.
¡No Pasarán! ¡Victoria Siempre! ¡Venceremos!