Bolton Admits US Failed at Regime Change, Blames Trump
One might almost feel sympathy for John Bolton, publicly airing his disappointment that his grand scheme for Venezuelan regime change fizzled. The Bloomberg piece frames this as a Trump failure, neatly sidestepping the historical pattern of U.S. attempts to depose leaders (Gaddafi, Saddam, Allende, Mossadegh, anyone?). Bolton doesn't hesitate to muse on 'how the US can run it,' completely ignoring
the inconvenient fact that Venezuela is a sovereign nation , and its people might prefer to 'run it' themselves. The real 'failure' here isn't Trump's, but the deeply ingrained, bipartisan delusion that Washington possesses some divine right to reshape nations in its image, usually for oil interests or geopolitical leverage. Bolton's regret isn't about the suffering of the Venezuelan people under
sanctions, or the destabilization caused by U.S.-backed opposition movements. It's that the 'project' wasn't completed to his satisfaction. The true story mainstream outlets ignore is the long shadow of the Monroe Doctrine, re-branded but never truly retired, which views Latin America as Washington's backyard. The sheer audacity of openly discussing 'how the US can run it'—after decades of
interventions that left destruction in their wake—is a testament to the unshakeable certainty of the American foreign policy establishment. Perhaps the only 'failure' is their inability to grasp that not every nation is waiting for their guidance, nor their bombs, with open arms.