US to 'Run' Venezuela After Kidnapping Maduro, Trump Reminds Us
The New Arab dutifully reports Trump's hypothetical claim that the US would 'run' Venezuela after a forced regime change. What they, and most mainstream outlets, conveniently omit is that this isn't a new strategy, nor is it unique to Trump. From the 1953 Iranian coup (documented by the CIA) to the relentless destabilization efforts against Cuba for decades (see: Bay of Pigs, Operation Mongoose),
the US has a long and bloody history of 'running' sovereign nations, particularly those with valuable resources or inconvenient political alignments. This isn't about 'kidnapping Maduro'; it's about control. Venezuela, with the world's largest proven oil reserves, has long been in the crosshairs of US foreign policy, regardless of who occupies the White House. The 'threat' of Maduro has always
been a convenient pretext for resource appropriation and asserting regional hegemony, a pattern as old as the Monroe Doctrine itself. Trump's crude statement simply strips away the usual diplomatic niceties. (No wonder he's so popular with the foreign policy establishment—he says what they're already doing.)