Interview with Journalist/Writer Stella Calloni Regarding the Situation in Venezuela

Stella Calloni (born in Entre Ríos, Argentina, in 1935) is a renowned journalist, writer, poet, and researcher specializing in international politics. Recognized as one of the most prominent voices in investigative journalism in Latin America, she served as a war correspondent in Central America and the Caribbean and has authored valuable studies on the region’s political processes—most notably her seminal research on Operation Condor (The Years of the Wolf, Criminal Pact). Throughout her extensive career—during which she was awarded the José Martí Latin American Journalism Prize and the Rodolfo Walsh Prize—she has been characterized by her critical perspective, her staunch defense of human rights, and an unwavering ethical commitment to the geopolitical analysis of the continent. Stella Calloni’s strong political statements will undoubtedly spark a rich international debate.

What is happening in Venezuela?
Stella Calloni: To me, this exposes the absolute weakness of the left and of intellectuals; it was something evident. What we are witnessing today is directly linked to the silent acceptance of the events of January 3, 2026. No one offered a convincing explanation for why it happened the way it did: a surgical operation lasting barely two or three hours in which the president was abducted, taken abroad, and—furthermore—control of the country was seized.

You draw a stark contrast between Venezuela’s military response capacity and other historical episodes in the region. Why do you find this lack of resistance so incomprehensible?
Stella Calloni: It is incomprehensible. Venezuela possesses a large army, equipped with radar, weaponry, and a defensive structure that Chávez himself left organized. It was not a defenseless nation. Consider the case of Panama when it was invaded by the United States: it was a country of barely two million inhabitants, with [US] Southern Command operating within its own territory and a military force of only 4,000 troops in training, lacking air power or heavy weaponry. Even so, in Panama, the people and the armed forces resisted with whatever they had at hand. That is why it is unacceptable that there was no resistance here, save for the heroic example of 32 Cuban comrades and a few isolated actions at barracks lacking defenses. An operation of this magnitude could never have been carried out without complicity or an internal arrangement.

In your analysis, the impact is not merely military or political but also economic and institutional. How do you assess the steps taken immediately afterward?
Stella Calloni: Within a week, they installed an interim president whose first move was to hand over the administration of oil resources to the US Treasury. And they try to justify it by arguing that these are “concessions necessary to save the people.” Save whom? With Southern Command present in the territory and the implementation of the so-called “Trump consensus,” anyone attempting to defend their homeland’s sovereignty will be labeled a terrorist. We all became the internal enemy.

Your discourse contains a direct challenge regarding political leadership and the role of historical memory. Do you feel the legacy of figures like Hugo Chávez or Fidel Castro has been betrayed?
Stella Calloni: The betrayal of Chávez is absolute and total. That is why they wiped his legacy off the map, and now they are trying to do the same with the figure of Bolívar. They seek to eradicate our peoples’ historical memory, sweep away social gains, and leave behind an impoverished, desperate society. The left found shelter in that extraordinary project since the turn of the century, but that era was sustained by the stature of a historic leadership, with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez at the helm. The current leadership believed it was possible to get by simply by attending summits, delivering eloquent speeches, and drafting documents. Politics demands action, yet nothing was done here.

You also express great concern regarding the humanitarian situation in Cuba. What do you think is lacking in the international solidarity shown to the island?
Stella Calloni: We are asleep at the wheel. The Cuban population is suffering a harrowing process of attrition—a dramatic state of suffocation reminiscent of the situation in Gaza. Regardless of the specific aid sent, we are talking about a country of nearly 10 million people that is paralyzed, lacking basic energy supplies, and with a hospital system pushed to the limit. We cannot simply sit around lamenting the situation while this unfolds.

To conclude, what is your call to action in light of this situation?
Stella Calloni: It is time to mobilize and take action. And let me be clear: I am not calling for armed insurrection or anything of the sort. I am talking about breaking the inertia of the closed circle in which we are trapped—caught between impeccable speeches that fail to transform reality. We must self-finance if necessary, take to the streets, organize at the grassroots level, challenge centers of power, and show the empire that we are still alive.

The interviewer and author, Lois Pérez Leira, is the Regional Coordinator of Sovintern for Latin America and the Caribbean