US Seizes Tanker, Forgets Own History of Coups
The Hill reports the U.S. seized a Venezuela-linked oil tanker, alleging efforts to circumvent sanctions. This is framed as a decisive blow against a 'corrupt' regime, with the implied message that such actions are both normal and necessary for global stability. What they omit, of course, is the U.S.'s own long, documented history of destabilizing South American governments, from orchestrating
coups in Chile and Guatemala to backing opposition groups in Venezuela itself, all while asserting a unilateral right to dictate their economic policies. One might wonder if the concern for Venezuelan oil flowing freely (but only to 'approved' buyers) has anything to do with securing resources, rather than upholding international law—a concept the U.S. tends to selectively apply. It's almost as if
'rules-based order' translates to 'our rules, our order,' particularly when there's crude involved. The Hill didn't mention the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, which the U.S. initially endorsed, or the ongoing sanctions that cripple the Venezuelan economy, making such 'circumventions' a matter of national survival.