A note on the U.S.' invasion in Venezuela

There's much to be said about today's events, but Audre Lorde's words from 42 years ago sum up a lot.

2026 has certainly started with a bang. We all woke up to the news this morning of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being captured in a late night raid and subsequently sent to New York to face criminal charges. There's much to be made of this story from what's next for Venezuela to the potential stakes for the region and for those unable to leave at this moment.

There are many political commentators and global affairs analysts that are chomping at the bit to answer any of those questions and I'm not going to pretend to have any of those answers. However, I do want to share this: I was reading the last few pages of Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider in a essay where she coincidentally chronicles life in Grenada two months after that Caribbean island was invaded by the United States.

"I looked around me, talked with Grenadians on the street, the shops, the beaches, on porches in the solstice twilight. Grenada is their country. I am only a relative. I must listen long and hard and ponder the implications of what I have heard, or be guilty of the same quick arrogance of the U.S. government in believing there are external solutions to Grenada's future."

- Audre Lorde, in Sister Outsider

There have been scenes of jubilation as a dictator's regime presumably comes to an end, fear of what comes next, and condemnation of the Trump administration's actions (most notably for being done without the approval of Congress). One thing that I hope that we don't lose sight of in the coming weeks and months is that there's an entire nation of citizens and expats that will be irreversibly affected by whatever happens. It's so important that those stories and perspectives get told and that the global response honors the will of the people.