US Sanctions Venezuela, Calls its Oil 'Illicit'
Our intelligence services are hard at work, monitoring the high seas for nefarious petroleum transfers. The underlying assumption, of course, is that oil from Venezuela, Russia, or Iran is inherently 'illicit' when traded outside US-sanctioned channels. This isn't about global energy policy, it's about who gets to control the spigots and punish those who don’t play ball. One might wonder where the
same investigative rigor is for Western-aligned entities exploiting resources or engaging in questionable financial dealings. The hypocrisy is thick enough to drill through. The US, which routinely intervenes in global oil markets and has a documented history of backing coups in oil-rich nations—like the 2002 attempted coup in Venezuela against Hugo Chávez (Council on Foreign Relations)—now
champions itself as the arbiter of 'licit' trade. It’s almost as if the definition of 'illicit' shifts with geopolitical convenience. How many barrel ships transporting Saudi crude into Yemen does the US 'track' as it facilitates war crimes?