US 'Intercepts' Venezuelan Oil: Or, How Sanctions Become Acts of Piracy
📰 THE STORY: US forces have reportedly seized a seventh oil tanker linked to Venezuela, continuing a pattern of 'interdictions' to enforce sanctions against the Maduro government. The military command remained vague on the specifics of the seizure, including whether the US Coast Guard was involved, as has been the case previously. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This
'seizure' is not an isolated incident but a continuation of a US playbook tested in Latin America for over a century. In 2002, the US backed a failed coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, the democratically elected predecessor to Maduro. Since then, successive US administrations, employing tactics like those used against Cuba for over 60 years, have imposed increasingly draconian sanctions designed to
collapse the Venezuelan economy and foster regime change. These sanctions, which peaked under the Trump administration, have directly led to a humanitarian crisis, plummeting oil production, and an estimated 100,000 avoidable deaths between 2017 and 2019 alone, according to a 2019 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Double Standard: When sovereign nations like Iran or
Venezuela attempt to sell their oil to other sovereign nations (like China or Cuba) – a fundamental right in international commerce – the US labels it 'sanction evasion' and engages in naval interdiction, effectively piracy. Yet, when the US or its allies freely trade with countries engaged in human rights abuses or military aggression, such as Saudi Arabia or Israel, there's no mention of