Maduro Calls for Global Oil Workers’ Protest Against Trump’s Piracy Agenda

Original article: Maduro llama a protesta mundial de trabajadores petroleros contra la piratería de Trump

In a worldwide appeal, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro urged the «global oil workers’ class» to engage in a major, ongoing protest against what he termed the «piracy of the United States Government,» following the recent seizure of a vessel transporting Venezuelan crude oil in Caribbean waters, allegedly ordered by President Donald Trump.

Maduro made the call during the closing session of the Workers’ Constituent Congress held on Tuesday in Caracas, emphasizing that the mobilization should not be a one-time event but rather a continuous effort.

“The oil workers’ class, through the international constituent commission, must defend the right to free trade of Venezuela’s main export product, oil, in all international forums—from multilateral agencies to unions. We need to engage with shippers in every port around the world to prepare a massive protest of oil, gas, and merchant marine workers against the piracy of the U.S. government, which seeks to impose their ‘patent of corso’ globally,” he stated.

The progressive leader asserted that “defending the right to free trade and peaceful relations in the Caribbean and Venezuela” is also “about protecting global peace and free trade.”

The Seizure of a Vessel Carrying 1.9 Million Barrels of Venezuelan Crude

This call for global protests is contextualized by Maduro’s recent denunciation on December 11, concerning the “military assault, kidnapping, and theft of an oil tanker by the United States north of Trinidad and Tobago, as the vessel was «entering the Atlantic.”

“This act constituted piracy against a merchant, commercial, civil, and private ship,» the president emphasized, noting that «the ship was private, civil, and was carrying one million nine hundred thousand barrels of oil, which they purchased from Venezuela» via state oil company PDVSA.

Drawing historical parallels, Maduro recalled that the Caribbean was heavily targeted by corsairs and pirates.

“The corsairs are hired by an imperial state. They are an army of pirates with a patent of corso,» he claimed. In this context, he affirmed it is the responsibility of workers to globally organize protests “against those who believe they possess patents of corso.”

The seizure of the vessel triggered renewed criticism of U.S. foreign policy, widely viewed as an attempt to economically suffocate Venezuela and provoke a potential armed conflict.

In response to the controversy, Donald Trump was asked by reporters about the fate of the oil being transported by the ship, to which he responded, «Well, I guess we’ll keep it.»

Maduro: «We Will Be Millions Saying No to Imperialism and Piracy»

Calling for international unity, the Venezuelan president appealed for collaboration and awareness to strengthen the protest’s impact.

“We will be millions saying no to imperialism and piracy,” he stressed, as reported by TeleSUR.

Maduro also warned about what he perceives as the ultimate goal of these actions, drawing on historical references to conflicts initiated under false pretenses: “They create a pretext “to create another Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq,” he stated while reiterating “no more Vietnam.”

He concluded his remarks by cautioning, “It would be a colossal sin for the U.S. to decide to massacre a Christian people like Venezuela.”

Simultaneously with the international appeal, the president announced actions within the Venezuelan labor movement and called for a second plenary meeting with over 66,000 delegates. He also urged progress on the approval of the 2026 action plan in the first week of January.”