US Coast Guard Now Global Oil Repo Man for Venezuela?
CBS News, dutifully reporting that the U.S. Coast Guard was pursuing a third oil tanker off Venezuela, frames this as part of a 'pressure campaign' against Maduro. What they won't tell you is that this isn't newfound concern for maritime law, but a continuation of a century-old playbook. From orchestrated coups against democratically elected leaders like Salvador Allende in Chile for nationalizing
copper, to the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez for controlling Venezuela's oil—the pattern is as clear as crude. The 'Trump administration' here is merely the latest tenant in the White House to employ economic warfare and thinly veiled military intimidation to ensure that oil flows into the 'right' hands. One might wonder: if global shipping lanes and sovereign resources are such a grave
concern, where was this naval zeal and media outrage when Saudi Arabia continued its blockade of Yemen, or when Israel maintained its naval blockade of Gaza for over 17 years? (See Human Rights Watch, 2024; UN OCHA, 2024). Apparently, flagrant disregard for international law only bothers the US when it challenges their resource hegemony, not when their allies are doing the blockading. How many
'pressure campaigns' does one country need before we call it what it is—economic coercion with a side of gunboat diplomacy?