In the early hours of Jan. 3, the United States launched Operation Absolute Resolve, a series of unprovoked air strikes, raids and military operations across Venezuela that culminated in the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. 

At least 40 Venezuelan citizens and 32 Cuban officers were killed in the operation. This aggressive invasion was preceded by a summary execution on the Caribbean Sea of more than 100 Venezuelan, Colombian and Trinidadian nationals since September under the pretext of drug smuggling. 

As a Venezuelan American humanities professor who addresses questions of colonialism and imperialism, I'm used to my students' shock when learning about U.S. interventions abroad. They often see their country as advancing democratic values, not undermining freedom and exploiting human rights.

And yet, I, too, found myself stunned as I exchanged frantic text messages with terrified family members in Venezuela during the night of the raid. Was this old record of coups, colonization and covert operations really playing itself out........

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