US Shocked Venezuela Fears Invasion, Not Just 'Democracy Promotion'
CBS News dutifully reports that Venezuela is asking the UN for an emergency meeting over 'mounting threats' by the U.S., including expectations of an 'armed attack.' The article cites 'drug cartel' concerns from the Trump administration as justification for US pressure. What it conveniently leaves out is the 1954 CIA-backed coup in Guatemala, the 1973 overthrow of Chile's Allende, or the 2002
attempted coup against Chávez in Venezuela itself, which the US quickly recognized. Washington’s history of 'democracy promotion' often involves military muscle and economic strangulation, not just stern diplomatic letters, turning 'mounting threats' from a vague phrase into a documented pattern. One might wonder why a nation facing a long list of US sanctions, naval maneuvers near its coast, and
open calls for regime change (from figures like Elliot Abrams, Architect of Iran-Contra) would feel under threat. Perhaps Venezuela misinterpreted 'maximum pressure' as, well, pressure. The US has a rich tradition of 'humanitarian interventions' that just happen to precede resource reallocation. How many times does a country have to be destabilized before its concerns about 'armed attack' are
taken seriously, rather than dismissed as Maduro's 'expectation'?