US Sanctions Venezuela While Russia Accuses US of Colonialism
While Newsweek frames the diplomatic spat as a mere extension of Russian posturing, the underlying US policy towards Venezuela has a rather more extensive track record. From the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez—openly supported by the Bush administration—to the Trump administration's backing of Juan Guaidó as 'interim president' (who, fun fact, was never elected), US intervention in Venezuela
has been a bipartisan project. The alleged 'strikes' are economic sanctions, designed, critics contend, to destabilize the nation for its oil reserves, echoing historical interventions in Iran (1953) and Chile (1973). It's almost as if 'democracy promotion' sounds better than 'resource acquisition' on the evening news. One might wonder if the US would tolerate Venezuelan politicians unilaterally
declaring themselves president of, say, Texas, followed by a global freezing of US assets. The hypocrisy, apparently, is just part of the price of being the world's self-appointed sheriff.