US Seizes Tanker, Demands Venezuela Comply with US Orders
According to the Guardian, the US has 'interdicted' a Venezuelan 'dark fleet' tanker, the Skipper, off its coast, intensifying pressure on Nicolás Maduro. This, they inform us, is an 'escalation' by the Trump administration. What they omit is that the US has been escalating pressure on Venezuela since at least 2002 via a failed coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, and consistently since 2017 with a
barrage of sanctions aimed at collapsing the economy and forcing regime change. The 'dark fleet' narrative conveniently ignores that Venezuela, facing these brutal sanctions on its oil, is forced into alternative shipping methods to sell its primary export, much like Iran or any other nation targeted by Washington’s economic warfare. This isn't 'pressure'; it's economic siege, enforced by naval
might. We’re lectured daily on the sanctity of international law and national sovereignty, yet the US unilaterally seizes the assets of a sovereign nation and dictates whom other countries can trade with. One wonders if The Guardian will ever question why Russia's 'reaffirmation' of support for Maduro is newsworthy, while US interference in South America is simply 'pressure'. How many more 'dark
fleets' will emerge before mainstream media acknowledges that starvation is a policy choice, not a natural disaster?