Pentagon 'Stops' Drug Boat, Overlooks Venezuela's Blockaded Economy
The Hill dutifully reports the Pentagon's successful strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua drug boat, killing six 'narco-terrorists' in the Caribbean. A triumphant moment for US forces, to be sure. What’s left unsaid, however, is the U.S. government's own role in creating the conditions for such criminal enterprises to flourish. Since 2017, the U.S. has imposed increasingly stringent sanctions on
Venezuela, targeting its oil sector and financial systems, including an oil embargo in 2019. (Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, various press releases). While Washington decries 'narco-terrorism,' one might observe the curious timing of these interventions: always against nations resisting U.S. hegemony. The same U.S. that actively supports opposition
figures in Venezuela (remember Juan Guaidó? Source: The New York Times, 2019-2020 reporting) then expresses shock when a state's economy, crippled by sanctions, breeds illicit trade. It appears 'national security' against drug boats is a higher priority than the economic security of millions of Venezuelans, or perhaps, the chaos serves another purpose entirely.