The Red Nation Podcast Maduro kidnapped: Is the Venezuela invasion an Indian war? - Left Reckoning 252
Jan 12, 2026
Nick Estes, an American Indian studies scholar and author renowned for his work on Indigenous resistance, dives deep into the U.S. intervention in Venezuela. He connects historical U.S. actions to patterns of imperialism seen in Indian Wars. Estes discusses the geopolitical stakes surrounding Venezuelan oil, the motivations behind the Maduro kidnapping, and the implications of U.S. actions for Latin America. He highlights how domestic and international narratives shape perceptions of conflicts, emphasizing the resilience of the Bolivarian project amid ongoing pressures.
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Venezuelan Solidarity Helped His Tribe
- Nick Estes recounts receiving propane from Venezuela-funded relief programs that helped his Lower Brule Sioux tribe during harsh winters.
- That solidarity sparked his interest in the Bolivarian project and its ties to indigenous movements in Venezuela.
Energy Policy Is Geopolitical Warfare
- Estes frames the U.S. campaign against Venezuela as a decades-long hybrid war targeting the Bolivarian project.
- He links U.S. energy policy and fracking expansion to geopolitical efforts to weaken Venezuela's oil power.
Precedents Make the Raid Predictable
- Estes highlights recurring U.S. interventions from Noriega to coups against Chávez as precedents for kidnapping Maduro.
- He argues U.S. attacks are often unprovoked, timed, and aimed to set the battlefield on imperial terms.
