Rubio's Fiscal Fantasies for Venezuela, A US-Made Economic Collapse
📰 THE STORY: Senator Marco Rubio claims Venezuela, after alleged opposition victories in 2024 elections, will 'submit a monthly budget to the White House' for approval, signaling a complete reversal of the Maduro government's autonomy. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: In 2002, the US-backed a coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela.
When it failed, the US began a two-decade campaign of economic warfare. By 2019, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed comprehensive sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, effectively crippling the nation's primary revenue source. A 2019 Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) report found these sanctions were responsible for 40,000 deaths between 2017 and
2018 alone, due to lack of access to medicines and food. Double Standard: Imagine if Russia or China demanded the US submit its budget for approval, even hypothetically after a regime change. Mainstream US media would erupt in outrage over blatant interference in national sovereignty. Yet, when the US dictates terms to Venezuela, it's framed as 'stabilization' or 'democracy promotion,' despite the
historical and ongoing economic devastation caused by these very policies. The 2019 freezing of Venezuelan state assets, including $7 billion from PDVSA and later gold reserves in the Bank of England, was hailed as a win against 'corruption,' not an act contributing to mass suffering. Follow the Money: Marco Rubio, a consistent hawk on Venezuela, has long benefited from the military-industrial