Even though the drumbeat for war in Venezuela had become louder and louder, the news on the morning of January 3rd came as a surprise to many. For months news was emerging about US troops amassing in the Caribbean and airstrikes on Venezuelan oil tankers. To date there have been 36 strikes with at least 117 dead. US warships were also amassing near Venezuela and first bombed the country in late December.
That was not the only bombing carried out in late December. While many people throughout the world were gathering with friends and family on Christmas, the US bombed Nigeria. This was the first time that US taxpayer money dropped bombs on the most populated African nation. Previously the US has provided military aid and training to the nation with the largest oil reserves in the continent. Donald Trump stated that it was a “Christmas present” one of the places targeted by the Tomahawk missiles was a mosque.
While there was mention in the news of the bombing in Nigeria, little notice was given to the bombing on Christmas in Somalia. Just 12 days into the second Trump administration, the military began bombing the country. There were at least 111 reported bombings in Somalia in 2025, more than the last 3 presidents combined. In less than a year, the current administration has carried out at least 626 airstrikes that have also included Iraq, Yemen, Iran, and Syria.
In the early morning hours of January 3rd just days into the New Year and after Trump declared that ‘Peace on Earth’ was his resolution for 2026, the US military abducted the president of Venezuela and his wife. Over 150 aircraft including bombers, fighter jets, and drones were used with 15,000 troops on hand on numerous war crafts and operating out of 20 military bases many of them in Puerto Rico. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA) and National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency (NGA) were all involved as well as SpaceCom and CyberCom which conducted a cyberattack to cut off electricity to the capital Caracas.
All of this was to showcase the vast military stockpiles of the US for what the White House has been referring to as a ‘law enforcement action’ as a way of rationalizing not needing Congressional approval. While planning had been in place for some time, Trump reached out to oil executives a month before Operation Absolute Resolve and then after the aim of regime change had taken place.
During the press conference that followed at Mar a Lago, the aims of the operation were clearly expressed when Trump stated “we are going to run the country” and “get back the oil they stole from us.” Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, stated “Welcome to 2026, and under President Trump, America is back.” That American dominance in the Western Hemisphere would not be questioned was the stated intention. Warnings were also issued to Mexico, Denmark, Iran, Nigeria, Colombia and Venezuela.
The war has been coming home in recent days with the departments overseeing immigration policy killing Renee Nicole Good, shooting unarmed civilians and growing awareness of deaths of 32 people inImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in 2025. These tragedies are increasing and slowly information is coming out about additional deaths by ICE. The current budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs Border Patrol (CBP) and ICE is $170 Billion over four years making it by far the largest federal law enforcement agency. The Big Terrible Bill has further increased the militarization of law enforcement creating what some have called the “Deportation-Industrial Complex.”
This playbook has been going on for far too long; the cost that is being paid by ordinary people is increasing world wide. In the US people are making the connections with their tax money paying for all of the bombings and expressing their fury at the lack of basic services. We get what we pay for; what if we stop paying for war? Within the last 24 hours Donald Trump has proposed a 1.5 Trillion military budget which would be a 50% increase and a recipe for more waste, fraud, and abuse.
As people are beginning to get their earning statements this month and concretely see how much of their wages the government has been taking to pay for genocide, illegal bombings of sovereign nations and the tanks within our streets, we would encourage people to double up their outreach on war tax resistance. Share your experiences, the many resources of NWTRCC and our collective knowledge of refusing to pay for war. Share word about our upcoming) War Tax Resistance 101 (on Zoom), Tuesday January 20th at 8p Eastern/ 5p Pacific. (Anniversary of Trump’s inauguration.) Register here.
As we gear up towards Tax Day, we wanted to take on different focuses each month. In January we are looking to share knowledge about some of the practical steps of resisting taxes to pay for war and militarization, and to build community that centers humane values. We need each other for inspiration. As the great pacifist Albert Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer