US Officials Brief Congress on Venezuela, Sidestep 60 Years of History
The Hill reports on then-President Trump’s focus on Venezuela's oil and pending briefings to Congress on the 'Maduro operation.' The implication? This is a new, urgent crisis requiring stern US intervention. What they won't tell you is that US interest in Venezuelan oil didn’t start with Trump. This 'operation' is merely the latest iteration of a policy stretching back to the 1960s, driven by a
consistent geopolitical appetite for resource control, not just 'democracy promotion.' The US has historically supported coups and destabilization efforts against any Venezuelan leader seen as a threat to its oil access, including Salvador Allende in Chile (1973) or Hugo Chávez (2002). One might wonder if 'briefing Congress' is less about informing and more about manufacturing consent for yet
another foreign intervention, perhaps leading to sanctions or even military pressure. How many 'briefings' does it take for a sovereign nation's resources to become US property? The media dutifully reports on the immediate political maneuvering, but the deeper historical context—the realpolitik of oil and systemic interference—remains conspicuously absent from the daily headlines.