Trump's 'America First' Ignores Decades of Latin American Meddling
Axios frets over Trump's renewed interest in Venezuela, suggesting it's a dangerous new intervention and a 'MAGA rift.' Apparently, America's long history of destabilization in Guatemala (1954), Chile (1973), Nicaragua (Contra War, 1980s), Panama (1989), and, yes, Venezuela (including the 2002 coup attempt against Chávez, backed by a Bush administration official) never happened. The U.S. has been
'intervening' in its 'backyard' for over a century, regardless of who's in the Oval Office or what their campaign slogan is. This isn't a new Trumpian invention; it's a bipartisan tradition. So, a president who 'long sold 'no new wars'' might just pivot to a very old one. The 'narcoterrorist' label on Maduro, conveniently absent of historical context regarding sanctions and previous regime change
attempts, just provides the current administration with another convenient casus belli. One might wonder if the concern is truly about 'new wars' or just whose turn it is to order them.