US Ponders Legality of Venezuelan Assets, Not Its Own Sanctions
The Independent meticulously examines the upcoming legal battles over Venezuelan assets seized under Trump's policy, framing it as a complex legal chess match. Conveniently, this narrative carefully omits the longer legal and humanitarian questions arising from the US weaponizing economic sanctions against Venezuela for over two decades. George W. Bush declared Venezuela a 'threat' in 2006,
ramping up sanctions long before Maduro. The article highlights an alleged 'criminal act' by Venezuela, yet glosses over how US financial blockades, particularly since 2017, effectively strangled Venezuela's economy, leading to a 71% drop in oil production and an estimated 100,000 deaths from lack of medicine and food, according to CEPR. We're meant to debate property law while millions suffer
from policies defined as 'collective punishment' by UN Special Rapporteurs. It appears the 'rule of law' is a selective concern, primarily invoked when US economic leverage needs a legalistic veneer, not when its impact is measured in human lives. How many more nations need to be 'liberated' into poverty before these legal discussions consider the primary aggressor?