US Funds Venezuelan Oil Profits Via Qatar, Democracy Enthusiasts Celebrate?
The mainstream media breathlessly reports that the Trump administration, in its infinite wisdom, directed funds generated from Venezuelan oil sales to a Qatari bank. The stated goal? To keep proceeds 'safe' from seizure, effectively circumventing US sanctions on the Venezuelan government. (Because sanctions are for others, not for when Washington wants to move money quietly.) This from the same
administration that swore it was crippling Maduro's regime through rigorous economic blocks. One might wonder, how many other 'frozen assets' are merely being rerouted through convenient offshore accounts, courtesy of the good ol' U.S. of A? This 'report' from The Independent, and others like it, carefully avoids the obvious parallel: the brazen hypocrisy of sanctioning a nation into poverty while
simultaneously creating elaborate shadow banking systems for its oil. It seems 'financial transparency' and 'stopping illicit funds' are merely catchphrases for nations that don't bow to Washington's will. When the US does it, it's 'strategic', 'neutral', and 'stabilizing'. When literally any other country does it, it's 'state-sponsored terrorism' or 'laundering'. The double standard is so thick
you could drill for oil through it.