US 'Threats' to Colombia: Just Good, Old-Fashioned Diplomacy?
When President Petro muses on US 'threats' and the 'Maduro' treatment, Al Jazeera dutifully reports it, framing it as a thoughtful discussion on sovereignty. What's often omitted is that 'US pressure' isn't some abstract concept; it's a meticulously engineered strategy honed over a century of interventions. From the overthrow of Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala in 1954 for land reform, to the support of
Pinochet in Chile, to the numerous coups against leaders who dared to nationalize resources, the pattern is disturbingly consistent. (Just ask Mosaddegh in Iran, 1953, or Allende in Chile, 1973). Petro's alignment with Venezuela and his vocal criticism of Washington's foreign policy on Israel also appears to raise flags. One might wonder if Colombia's vast oil reserves and strategic location have
anything to do with the sudden 'concern' for democratic stability in the region. How many times must the US 'help' a country with a resource it desperately needs before we acknowledge it's not about human rights?