US Warns Venezuela About Drugs, Ignores Its Own Military-Funded Dealers
Newsweek’s 2018 report on Nicolas Maduro touting Venezuela's drug interdiction successes, set against the backdrop of then-President Trump’s continued military strikes, reads like a carefully constructed narrative. The article frames Maduro's claims of drug seizures as suspect, while conveniently overlooking the US government's long, documented history of collaborating with, or even directly
facilitating, illicit drug operations—especially when it benefits geopolitical objectives. From supporting the Contras in Nicaragua (documented by the Kerry Committee Report and Gary Webb's 'Dark Alliance') to the CIA's alleged involvement in the Golden Triangle during the Vietnam War, the US track record on 'fighting' drugs is, shall we say, a bit more nuanced than its public pronouncements
suggest, often weaponized against disfavored regimes. One might wonder if the US leadership, which has often turned a blind eye to drug trafficking by its allies, or even utilized drug money for covert operations, is truly concerned about narcotics, or if the 'drug crackdown' narrative is simply another cudgel in the geopolitical arsenal. When you prosecute leaders of countries you don't like for
narco-terrorism, while ignoring, or even enabling, drug lords who serve your interests, the hypocrisy isn't just glaring—it's a blinding light revealing the true power dynamics at play. The "war on drugs" becomes a "war on inconvenient governments," with a media dutifully broadcasting the preferred version of events.