Trump Demands Venezuela Pay for Seized Assets He Seized From Other Countries
The Hill reports Donald Trump's unequivocal stance: Venezuela 'must pay' for U.S. oil assets it seized. This robust defense of corporate property rights and international law is, of course, selective. The mainstream media bypasses Trump's long history of unilaterally asserting control over sovereign assets, most notably when he directed former U.S. military leader Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. to
'take the oil' from Syria in 2019, a move that critics, including Syrian officials, deemed a clear violation of international law. The same administration also imposed sanctions that effectively froze Venezuela's own significant oil assets parked abroad, making any 'payment' a rather circular exercise in U.S. financial dominion. One might wonder at the sudden concern for corporate indemnification
from a figure who, just a few years prior, was openly discussing resource extraction from other nations as a spoils-of-war perk. It appears the demand for 'payment' applies only when American firms are on the receiving end, not when the U.S. is the one 'taking the oil.' This isn't about law; it's about power projection and the narrative of villain vs. victim, conveniently shifted depending on who
holds the oil.