Venezuela Condemns HTS Attacks Against Syrian People, Reiterates Assad Support

Mexico City, Mexico, December 3, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government declared its solidarity with the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad following attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the province of Aleppo.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically condemns all hostilities against the people of the Syrian Arab Republic, carried out by terrorists led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which have caused significant harm to the civilian population and worsened the humanitarian situation in Aleppo province,” read the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published Saturday.

The communique further called for “an immediate end to the support provided by major Western powers and the Netanyahu regime” for the rebel forces attacking the Assad government. 

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reiterated Caracas’ stance in a phone call with Assad on Monday.

HTS is the descendant of Islamist organization Al Nusra Front, a Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda, operating with the support of Western regimes to overthrow the Assad government.

Hezbollah and the Assad government are considered close allies, with Syria playing a key support role for the Lebanese group and, to a lesser degree, Palestinian resistance organizations after the re-establishment of ties with Hamas in October 2023. Meanwhile, HTS is believed to be also supported by neighboring Turkey. 

HTS appears to have been motivated by a perceived weakness of its rivals in Hezbollah and Assad. The attacks by HTS, a former Al Qaeda affiliate, and their surprise rapid advances came following a ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, opening up a new phase in the 13-year-old armed conflict.

The Venezuelan government’s statement accused HTS’ backers of seeking to “destabilize the entire region of West Asia.” The Syrian army and local allies are presently engaged in fierce clashes with HTS in the Aleppo and Hama provinces.

The Maduro government has been a vociferous defender of the Palestinian people, as well as enjoying close relations with Assad in Syria and its key international backer Russia. 

Venezuela, together with its allies, have categorized their struggle against the US, Israel and local surrogates as part of an anti-fascist effort and has been working to advance an international agenda, including playing host to the World Congress Against Fascism in September. 

More recently, the International Conference in Solidarity with Palestine was held in Caracas where delegates welcomed Palestinian fighter Leila Khaled, who called for the peoples of the world to struggle inspired by martyrs Hugo Chávez and Hassan Nasrallah.

Khaled also paid a visit to El Panal Commune in Caracas, where she met with communards and posed next to a mural of her iconic image holding an assault rifle. 

“The commune is a new and creative construction by the working class, and seeing this gives us the strength to keep up the struggle,” said Khaled following her visit.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.