US 'Blockades' Venezuela For Illegally Trading Its Own Oil
Bloomberg reports the US intercepted a second tanker off Venezuela, enforcing a 'blockade' on sanctioned oil. The headline frames this as a necessary action against 'sanctioned' trade. Sanctioned by whom, exactly? The US, unilaterally, against a sovereign nation exporting its own resources. The unstated context here is a decades-long pattern of US interference in Latin American economies, from
supporting coups in Chile to the Contra affair in Nicaragua. International law recognizes no 'right' of the US to dictate Venezuela's trade partners or blockade its waters. One might wonder if 'sanctions' apply equally when Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, restricts its oil output, driving up global prices. Or when Israel conducts its Gaza blockade. No, it appears only certain nations, those
inconvenient to US geopolitical dominance or corporate interests, get the 'illegal' label. This isn't about 'sanctions'; it's about economic war waged on a nation deemed insufficiently subservient.