Venezuela: regime change is not peace, and our taxes must not fund it

In the early hours of 3 January 2026, the United States carried out air strikes on targets in Venezuela and confirmed it had captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, taking them to the United States to face criminal charges. The operation has prompted international alarm about legality and the human cost.

Whatever you think of the Maduro government, bombing and the forcible removal of leaders are not a path to democracy or human rights. They are the language of force, and the predictable result is fear, destroyed homes, and an escalation spiral that puts civilians at risk.

The UN has been drawn into urgent discussions about whether this sets a “dangerous precedent” for international law and state sovereignty.

Conscience stands with other UK anti-war organisations in clearly opposing military intervention, bombing, and imposed regime change.

The truth is that militarism is not only a foreign policy choice, but also a public finance choice. When powerful states normalise unilateral force, they also normalise the idea that public money should automatically be available for coercion: for airstrikes, deployments, intelligence operations, and the machinery that sustains them.

Meanwhile communities are told there is “no money” for health, housing, climate action, or peacebuilding. That false scarcity story is one we see at home all too often.

In the past few days, UK ministers have appeared uncertain about the implications of the US claiming it will “run” Venezuela, while calling in general terms for peace and legality.

In moments like this, Conscience’s purpose is not abstract. People should not be compelled to fund war. We campaign for the right of conscientious objectors to have the military portion of their taxes redirected to peacebuilding, and for a progressive shift in UK spending away from war and preparation for war, towards the work that actually prevents violence.

If governments want legitimacy, they must pursue it through law, diplomacy, and the self-determination of people, not through missiles and the idea that might makes right.

We urge the British government to publicly condemn these actions and press for de-escalation, diplomacy, and a political future determined by Venezuelans, not imposed by force.