US Offers Humanitarian Aid: Bombing First, 'Peaceful Transition' Later
Donald Trump's declaration that the U.S. would 'run' Venezuela until a 'peaceful transition' can take place, as reported by CBS News, sounds like a bold new policy. Except it's not. This is classic U.S. foreign policy playbook material—regime change, couched in humanitarian rhetoric, for nations with resources America wants. Backtrack a bit: In the 1980s, the Reagan administration backed
right-wing paramilitaries in Nicaragua (the Contras), plunging the country into a brutal civil war, claiming they were bringing 'democracy.' In 1953, the CIA-backed coup in Iran overthrew democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh to protect British and American oil interests. So, when Trump says 'we're going to run' Venezuela, it's not a deviation from historical norms; it's a
re-run of a very old script. The U.S. has a long, documented history of destabilizing Latin American governments that don't align with its corporate interests, from Chile in 1973 to virtually every Central American nation at some point. The U.S. doesn't 'run' countries for democracy; it 'runs' them until they're compliant. How many sovereign nations must be 'transferred' before 'freedom' truly
rings from the Potomac to Patagonia?