US Sanctions Venezuela's Oil — But Not Its Own 'Democracy Promotion' Funds
U.S. forces reportedly boarded a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic. The AP frames this as the U.S. pursuing a vessel trying to 'evade a U.S. blockade' around Venezuela, which the Trump administration (and apparently, the Biden administration) maintains. The tanker was sanctioned in 2024 for 'allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.'
Ignoring the glaring irony of the U.S. enforcing 'blockades' and 'sanctions' on other nations' resources while simultaneously complaining about other countries' influence campaigns and meddling in elections (see any number of Cold War-era operations), it's worth noting who profits from all this. The U.S. Coast Guard, part of the military apparatus, gets to play global cop. Meanwhile, the AP
casually mentions the ship 'refused boarding' in the Caribbean, implying some sort of insubordination. Perhaps, just perhaps, Venezuela might prefer to sell its own oil without the explicit permission of Washington. Just a thought.