Sanctions-for-Profit: US Starves Venezuela, India Feasts on Cheap Oil
The FT reports Indian refiners are 'seeing opportunity' in Venezuela’s distress, snapping up heavily discounted crude as US sanctions, initiated by the Trump administration, keep global rivals at bay. This isn't just shrewd business; it's the predictable outcome of weaponizing the global financial system. When Washington kneecaps a sovereign nation's ability to sell its primary export, it creates
a fire sale, which certain 'friends' are then permitted to exploit, often with a wink and a nod. (An 'opportunity' for whom exactly?) It's less market efficiency, more geopolitical strong-arming. This 'opportunity' narrative conveniently sidesteps the immense human suffering inflicted by these sanctions, which the UN Special Rapporteur specifically linked to humanitarian crises in 2021. The US
embargo, far from promoting democracy, appears to be an economic siege tactic, pushing ordinary Venezuelans into deeper poverty while allowing privileged players to clean up. Funny how 'free markets' always seem to bend when Washington smells a regime change or a cheap barrel of oil.