US Discovering 'Drug Lords' Only When Oil Is Involved
The BBC's recent piece, 'Warships, fighter jets and the CIA - what is Trump's endgame in Venezuela?' (BBC World, April 2020), ponders if the US is after drug traffickers or 'regime change.' How quaint. This framing ignores a long, distinguished history of US interventions in Latin America, uniformly disguised as 'security' or 'stability' operations, from the United Fruit Company's banana republics
to the endless coups supporting US economic interests. The CIA wasn't in Chile in 1973 for drug interdiction, nor in Guatemala in 1954 to promote democracy. Their 'ends' have been remarkably consistent, only the 'means' get updated from banana tariffs to 'drug cartels'. One might wonder if the BBC's editorial board keeps a rotating cast of amnesiacs, or if they genuinely believe the US suddenly
developed an interest in regional narcotrafficking independent of Venezuela's vast oil reserves. After all, the US hasn't always been so eager to prosecute drug allegations against, say, Saudi princes or friendly dictators. The historical receipts show a clear pattern: when a nation possesses resources and opts for self-determination, suddenly, they become a 'threat' or host to 'drug kingpins.'
It's not an 'endgame,' it's just the 'game' as usual.