By Faye Wilson Kennedy

On Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, under the Trump administration, the United States engaged in racist colonial actions—the US launched a military strike on Venezuela.

Many people in America, including some nine thousands of our unhoused and housed neighbors in Sacramento, cannot afford food or groceries, and another hundreds of thousands are losing access to healthcare. Locally, school districts are facing significant deficits, and many are considering cutting programs, closing schools, and even laying off staff.  The California Community Colleges systems are set to lose millions of dollars after the Trump administration cancel funding federal grants supporting pathways programs for students of color. Yet Trump, without any congressional approval, launched a military strike on Venezuela—after recently claiming the country was withholding oil and land that “belongs” to the United States.

Using military force to control land and resources in another sovereign country has only ever yielded catastrophic outcomes. While the ousting of Venezuelan President Maduro is being lauded by some Venezuelans in exile, we cannot downplay the current and potential damage from a U.S. president proclaiming about another sovereign nation, “We’re going to run the country” for now.

This is how the war economy works: it diverts resources, concentrates power, and sustains empire while everyday people and the environment—at home and abroad—are left to suffer.

The bombing of nations and the violent capture of leaders in the interest of racist imperialism signal a dangerous disregard for human life and global norms. Civil society must speak, organize, and act—demanding nonviolent solutions and accountability rooted in human dignity, respect, and justice.

We must ask whether we are repeating history.  Our collective silence only enables more violence; we must act and resist, using nonviolence as a tool. 

Faye Wilson Kennedy, Sacramento Poor People’s Campaign (Sac PPC)  and Sacramento Area Black Caucus (SABC)