US Imperialism: A Bipartisan Affair, Not Just Trump's Folly
📰 THE STORY: Al Jazeera's 'UpFront' questions whether Donald Trump is pushing a 'new imperialism' in Latin America, focusing on his administration's actions, particularly targeting Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, and the subsequent fallout across the region. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The notion of 'new imperialism' under Trump is a carefully constructed misdirection. Latin
America has been a constant target of US imperial interventions for over a century. From the 1954 CIA-backed coup in Guatemala for the United Fruit Company, to the 1973 CIA coup in Chile against Salvador Allende, to the 2002 US-backed failed coup against Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, and the subsequent 2019 lithium coup in Bolivia against Evo Morales, 'imperialism' in Latin America is old news, a
bipartisan project. Trump's actions are merely the latest chapter in a very long, bloody book written by successive US administrations. Double Standard: The media often frames actions against Venezuela as unique 'dictatorial' aggressions, while ignoring how US-imposed sanctions have strangled the Venezuelan economy, causing immense suffering for ordinary citizens. The same outlets that highlight
Venezuela's internal struggles often fail to critically examine US sanctions, which directly impede access to food and medicine, mirroring the narrative playbook used against Cuba for decades. Meanwhile, US ally regimes in the region, like those involved in the 1976 CIA-backed junta in Argentina that 'disappeared' 30,000 citizens, receive little to no comparable scrutiny. Follow the Money: Beyond