Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by US forces was a "threat" to the survival of democratic nations in the world and showed the "arrogance and audacity of American imperialism".

Vijayan referred to the recent capture of Maduro and his wife by US forces while speaking after inaugurating the 4th edition of the Kerala Legislative Assembly International Book Festival (KILBF) here.

The CM said it was something "unheard of" in the modern world and showed the arrogance and audacity of American imperialism, which was a challenge to all the nations around the globe.

He said that such actions by the US will not end with what happened in Venezuela as American President Donald Trump has "arrogantly" announced that similar steps will take place against Cuba and Greenland as well.

"This is a new phase of American imperialism where countries not aligning with the interests of the US are being targeted for destruction," he contended and recommended discussing the issue in the week-long literary festival being held at the Assembly complex here from January 7 to 13.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, who spoke on the occasion, also referred to the Venezuelan president's capture as an act of "American imperialism".

Satheesan cited an alleged incident in which the imprisoned Russian opposition leader was poisoned under President Vladimir Putin's regime, contending that such actions showed how "autocratic rulers" try to silence their critics.

He further claimed that such rulers were "misusing" social media platforms and artificial intelligence tools for their own benefit.

"Such is the world we are living in. It is a dark period that the world is moving through," he contended and said that in these times literary works were the only solace for people.

He said that in the first half of the 20th century, there were rulers who silenced voices of dissent and opposition, including those of writers.

"I fear what happened then will repeat in the first half of the 21st century," Satheesan said.

Referring to some literary works, the opposition leader said that in the present times there were forces or groups which were trying to control even what a person should think.

"We fought for the freedom to express ourselves, but now we have to fight for the freedom to think for ourselves," he said.

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Vijayan, in his speech, also welcomed Banu Mushtaq, winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize, who is the chief guest of the event.

Ministers K Rajan, K N Balagopal, V Sivankutty, Deputy Leader of the Opposition P K Kunhalikutty, were among those who participated in the event.