KE AUPUNI UPDATE - JANUARY 2026
It All Started With Hawaii…
The United States’ brazen capture of Venezuela President Nicholas Maduro is a chilling reminder of what happened in Hawaiian Islands in 1893. Only, this time, the US action has stirred up international protests.
At a recent UN Security Council meeting to discuss the issue, among many of the objections raised, France and Denmark called the action “a dangerous precedent that erodes the international order”. Although their sentiment was clear, saying this was a “precedent” shows a pathetic grasp of the history of mankind. The practices of capturing an adversary, overthrowing regimes, plundering and subjugation has been going on since time immemorial.
But if you want the real modern-day precedent for US intervention in foreign countries, then look no further than what happened in Hawaii on January 17, 1893. On that day, 162 fully armed US marines and sailors provided the military muscle for a group of greedy, arrogant, racist white businessmen in Honolulu in their traitorous scheme to seize control of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands, a recognized sovereign, independent nation, for the purpose of handing Hawaii over to the United States.
The objections raised by Queen Liliʻuokalani and 82% of Hawaii’s population who signed the Kūʻe Petition were duly accepted and noted by the US Congress, then ignored, filed and forgotten. This led a few months later to the fake annexation of the Hawaiian Islands followed by 60 years of plundering; then the fake statehood plebiscite followed by 66 more years of plundering.
Having gotten away with their gun-boat diplomacy action in Hawaii set the dangerous precedence of American foreign policy: the use of aggression to cause regime change in countries that fail to submit to US demands. Since that first illegal intervention in Hawaii 133 years ago, there have been around twenty instances of this bully policy, including most recently, Iraq, Afghanistan and now, Venezuela.
Like all the US incursions, the taking of Hawaii was not an accident. It was intentional with years of planning by various US administrations. Finally, the opportunity came when, greedy businessmen in Hawaii set the takeover in motion. It was a conspiracy which included the US foreign minister, John L. Stevens who was sent to Hawaii by the US Secretary of State, with the blessings of the Secretary of War and with tacit approval by the President Benjamin Harrison. Stevens’ assignment: to secure Hawaii (particularly Pearl Harbor) for the United States.
The US already had a long, bloody record of attacking native inhabitants and taking their lands. Just 22 years after the Revolutionary War, the US had already extended its territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific. By 1890 these territories had been consolidated into 44 states of the Union. But the US incursion in Hawaii was the first time the US attacked a friendly foreign sovereign country in order to take possession of it. Those like President Grover Cleveland who understood this was a clear case of piracy on the high seas strongly protested and condemned what had just happened. But because the United States is, by definition, a country of stolen lands, most of America’s leaders and citizens simply didn’t care about what was illegal or unlawful, as long as America got what it wanted.
One other point. What happened in Hawaii created a new template for US foreign policy. Because they got away with it in Hawaii, US foreign policy since then has been, if a country refuses to give America what it wants, overthrow it and install those who will.
Fortunately for us today, the rest of the world is calling out injustice and bullying when they see it. When they learn what happened in Hawaii, they become very sympathetic to our campaign to free Hawaii. Not only that, they are becoming more willing to help us do something about it. The long journey to free our nation from captivity started 50 years ago. Help from the international community is about to arrive.
Aloha ʻĀina —
“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono.
The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
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For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 7 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53.
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Malama Pono,
Leon Siu
Hawaiian National
