U.S. Declares Itself Venezuela's Boss, Lacks Address
President Trump's confident assertion that he's 'in charge' of Venezuela, as reported by NPR, is a classic performance piece. One might even call it a reboot of previous U.S. attempts at regime change, from Chile to Iraq – always for 'democracy,' never for, say, oil or geopolitical leverage. This is the official storyline, carefully curated to ignore the actual historical record, which features
U.S.-backed coups and sanctions that starve populations while conveniently leaving those U.S. diplomats at home. The audacity of such a claim, when the U.S. has no 'troops or diplomats' in the country—and crucially, when all of Nicolas Maduro's top aides remain firmly in power—raises questions that NPR leaves politely unasked. What does 'in charge' truly mean when the only observable impact on the
ground is the suffering of ordinary Venezuelans under U.S. sanctions, not a change in leadership? Perhaps 'in charge' translates to 'solely responsible for worsening humanitarian crises,' a role Washington has mastered globally.