US Blows Up Boats, Shocked Venezuela Holds Drills
CBS News dutifully reports that Venezuela's Maduro ordered military exercises following the latest US military strike on an alleged drug boat. According to the report, President Trump declared six 'narcoterrorists' killed, bringing the tally to 27 since September. What the report inconveniently forgets to mention is the long, documented history of US-backed destabilization efforts in Venezuela,
stretching back to Hugo Chávez and including support for opposition figures, coup attempts, and crippling sanctions that disproportionately harm civilians. The 'war on drugs' often serves as convenient pretext for projecting US power into sovereign waters. One might wonder if the US would view military exercises off its own coast, following foreign naval strikes on alleged smuggling vessels, with
similar journalistic neutrality. Or would it be called an act of war? This selective outrage, where a nation responding to lethal foreign intervention is painted as the aggressor, perfectly illustrates how US foreign policy—and its media echo chamber—consistently manufactures consent for its imperial ambitions. Apparently, sovereignty is a privilege reserved for those who don't sit on vast oil
reserves.