In a fiery declaration that underscores a deepening geopolitical rift, African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has launched a vehement condemnation of the United States and President Donald Trump, labeling the military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores a “grave crime against international law” and an act of “imperialist aggression.”
Speaking at a hurriedly convened media briefing at Luthuli House, Mbalula framed the intervention not as a law enforcement action but as a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and the United Nations Charter. His statements mark the most forceful and high-level reaction from South Africa’s ruling party, aligning the nation firmly with a growing bloc of countries decrying the U.S.-led operation.
“The African National Congress stands in unshakeable solidarity with the legitimate government and people of Venezuela,” Mbalula declared, his tone uncompromising. “What the United States has executed is not justice; it is an act of war. It is the unlawful kidnapping of a sovereign nation’s elected head of state under the false pretext of democracy. We witnessed a similar script in Iraq and Libya, and we know the humanitarian catastrophe that follows.”
Mbalula’s condemnation extends beyond the capture itself, taking direct aim at the legal proceedings now underway in New York. “President Maduro is not a criminal; he is a political prisoner of war,” Mbalula asserted, echoing the defense put forth by Maduro’s own legal team. “The so-called ‘narco-terrorism’ charges are a transparent political fabrication designed to sanction regime change and justify the plunder of Venezuela’s resources. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.”
The ANC’s position, articulated through its secretary-general, reinforces the South African government’s earlier diplomatic warnings and places the country at the forefront of a Global South counter-narrative. This stance is rooted in the ANC’s historical foreign policy principles of self-determination, anti-imperialism, and multilateralism, as well as its own experience with international solidarity during the apartheid era.
“Our struggle was victorious because the world respected the principle that the people of South Africa alone had the right to determine their future,” Mbalula stated. “We cannot now stand silent as that same principle is bulldozed in Venezuela. The solution to Venezuela’s challenges lies in inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans, not in drone strikes and covert raids ordered from Washington.”
The reaction from international quarters has been predictably polarized. While the U.S. State Department and several Western allies have reiterated their support for the operation as a necessary step to restore democracy, Mbalula’s comments were swiftly applauded by officials in Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran, and by left-wing movements across Latin America and Africa. Conversely, they drew sharp criticism from opposition parties within South Africa, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) accusing the ANC of siding with “a corrupt dictator over the Venezuelan people’s right to freedom.”
Political analysts suggest Mbalula’s forceful intervention serves both ideological and strategic purposes. “This is a definitive statement of post-Western alignment,” said Dr. Siphokazi Mdluli, a senior fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue. “It fortifies South Africa’s BRICS credentials, appeals to its anti-colonial base domestically, and positions the nation as a vocal champion of a multipolar world order where the sovereignty of nations in the Global South is non-negotiable.”
As the crisis enters a new phase with Maduro’s impending trial, the ANC, through Mbalula’s rhetoric, has made it clear that South Africa will be a vocal dissenting voice in the international arena. The demand for the release of Maduro and Flores is not merely a diplomatic gesture but a direct challenge to the legal and moral authority of the United States’ action, setting the stage for a protracted battle that will be fought in courtrooms, at the UN, and in the court of world public opinion.
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