Letters to the editor – January 9, 2026

Tyranny and imperial interests

Sergio de Feunte Garrido of Madrid, Spain, writes:

The detention of Nicolás Maduro and his wife by the United States is a moment of profound political and symbolic significance.

On one hand, it represents a necessary reckoning with a regime that has brought Venezuela to the brink of collapse. Chavismo established a dictatorship that dismantled institutions, systematically violated human rights, persecuted political opponents and allowed the state to be penetrated by corruption, drug trafficking and transnational criminal networks. Millions of Venezuelans were forced into exile, while extreme poverty, scarcity and insecurity became the daily norm.

This image, posted on US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account on January 3, shows Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima after the US military captured him. Photo: US President Donald Trump's Truth social account/AFP

An extraordinarily wealthy country was reduced to a state of social and economic ruin.

Yet, this event cannot be interpreted as a purely altruistic act. Donald Trump’s triumphant rhetoric following the detentions reveals a strategic calculation rooted in imperialist logic. Venezuela is not only a nation in crisis; it is oil, energy and regional influence.

Modern imperialism no longer relies on overt military occupation; it operates through surgical interventions, narratives of salvation and control over resources. In international politics, favours are never free and every debt carries a price. 

Between the collapse of a criminal dictatorship and the intervention of a global power with clear interests, Venezuela remains exposed.

The uncomfortable question lingers: Has justice truly been served or is the country merely changing hands under a new form of control?

Human rights

Carmel Sciberras of Naxxar writes:

The protection and safeguarding of life is a fundamental human right. Abortion denies this right since science confirms that human life starts at conception. Moreover, abortion applies the capital punishment to a vulnerable and innocent human life that has committed no crime.

On both these counts, the position of pro-abortionists is completely untenable.

Hospital ward bullies

Paul Azzopardi of Sliema writes:

My wife, an 87-year-old very frail person, had to be admitted for a week at Mater Dei Hospital’s M3 ward after she suffered a choking, very-low-oxygen episode.

She found most excellent attention in the doctors, nurses and carers at all times. However, this was very badly marred by an individual, a very tall, heavyweight man in plain clothes who shouted at patients, nurses and carers with commanding instructions not to help patients wash, even those who are bedridden. It was shouting along all wards.

It is a true pity that certain heavyweight bullies are even allowed to dictate what should happen in a hospital ward. 

The episode happened a few days after Christmas.