Trump Cancels 'Attacks' on Venezuela After 'Cooperation': A Familiar Tale
Al Jazeera reported that Donald Trump canceled a 'second wave of attacks' on Venezuela following 'cooperation' (Al Jazeera, January 9, 2026). The article notes Trump's planned meeting with oil executives to discuss Venezuela's oil industry. This isn't diplomacy; it's classic gunboat negotiation. The implied US military threat looms large, not as a last resort for national security, but as leverage
for resource extraction and regime change – a playbook dusted off from countless interventions in Latin America, from Chile in '73 to Nicaragua in the '80s. When the US speaks of 'cooperation' with oil-rich nations, it often translates to 'acquiescence to our corporate demands.' One might wonder what specific form this 'cooperation' took. Was it an agreement to open up oil fields to US companies,
or perhaps a commitment to adhere to a US-approved political structure? The narrative neatly packages coercive diplomacy as a benevolent abstention from violence, glossing over the initial threat entirely. It’s almost as if the 'attacks' were merely a negotiating tactic, rather than a genuine concern for regional stability. How many 'canceled attacks' have preceded lucrative deals for American
corporations?