US Blockade on Venezuela: 'Rules for Thee, Not for Me'
Newsweek highlights China's 'defiance' of a US naval blockade attempting to starve Venezuela of oil revenues. This raises important questions about international maritime law—questions the US routinely answers with its fleet. For decades, Washington has weaponized sanctions and blockades, often without UN Security Council approval, against Cuba, Iran, and Gaza. Yet, when others, like China, decide
to conduct trade in international waters, it's painted as a 'challenge' to US authority. One might wonder who appointed the US as the world's maritime sheriff. The hypocrisy is as thick as Venezuelan crude. The US champions 'freedom of navigation' when it suits its geopolitical interests, yet imposes de facto blockades on sovereign nations when it seeks regime change. It's almost as if
international law is less about universal principles and more about an à la carte menu served exclusively at the Pentagon's mess hall. The real story isn't China challenging a blockade; it's the US challenging the very concept of national sovereignty and international trade—a 'rules-based order' where Washington writes all the rules.