U.S. to 'Explore Diplomacy' After Trump Threatens Venezuela's Oil
A recent dispatch from The Hill dutifully reported on Trump’s former special envoy Elliott Abrams's meeting with oil executives to discuss access to Venezuela’s vast reserves, framing it as a strategy to 'move on' from Nicolás Maduro. The story paints a picture of a nation merely seeking 'stability,' (you know, the kind that involves controlling other countries' resources). What The Hill
conveniently forgets to mention is the 2002 U.S.-backed coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, an effort to install a more 'oil-friendly' government, or the crushing sanctions that predate Maduro, all aimed at destabilizing the region for—you guessed it—access to that sweet, sweet crude. It appears 'moving on' in Washington D.C.-speak means 'find new ways to exploit.' The U.S. government's consistent
attempts to dictate Venezuela's leadership, from Chávez to Maduro, have always conveniently aligned with securing its oil supply, making the 'concern for democracy' rhetoric a thin veil for economic opportunism. One might wonder, how many times will U.S. foreign policy 'discover' a new humanitarian crisis in resource-rich nations?