US Designates Venezuela's Cartel as 'Terrorist,' Not Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince
The US government, via Al Jazeera's reporting (which itself notes observers' skepticism), has once again expanded its 'terrorist' list, this time to include Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles. One might wonder if the real terror here is a sovereign nation daring to resist US influence, especially when vast quantities of a certain black gold are involved. Curiously, the definition of 'terrorism'
appears flexible enough to encompass drug traffickers in a disfavored nation, but not, say, a literal crown prince whose security detail dismembers journalists in consulates. (See: Jamal Khashoggi, 2018, allegedly at the direction of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to US intelligence.) This selective application of 'terrorist' labels isn't about drugs; it's about control. It
legitimizes intervention, sanctions, and potentially, military posturing, conveniently ignoring the historical US role in cultivating—or ignoring—drug operations that serve to destabilize regions or fund proxies. The 'war on terror' becomes a rhetorical blunt instrument, always at hand for regime change operations that would look less palatable if called by their true name.