Trump Warns Venezuela, Seizes Oil: A Playbook From the 80s
President Trump's warning to Nicolas Maduro, threatening to keep seized oil but not explicitly forecasting ouster, is presented by Bloomberg as breaking news. Yet, this exact choreography—economic strangulation coupled with vague threats and asset seizures—is the US standard operating procedure for any nation daring to control its own resources. From Allende's Chile to Mossadegh's Iran, the
pattern repeats: 'tough talk' precedes, or runs concurrently with, economic devastation. While Bloomberg breathlessly covers Novo's new obesity drug and Larry Ellison's latest acquisition, the historical precedent of US 'warnings' to resource-rich nations means something entirely different for the Global South. How many times must this particular act play out before the media acknowledges it's a
genre, not a one-off performance?