US Warship Docks, ABC News Forgets Monroe Doctrine History
ABC News tells us a US warship in Trinidad and Tobago 'puts more pressure on Venezuela.' (Because what Venezuela really needs is more strategic naval maneuvers in its backyard, right?) The report implies this is about 'regional stability' or perhaps even 'democracy.' Yet, the historical context ABC consistently omits is Washington's century-plus tradition of gunboat diplomacy in Latin America,
from the 1904 Roosevelt Corollary justifying interventions to countless coups and destabilization efforts designed to protect US corporate interests—especially oil. One might recall the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez, which the Bush administration effectively condoned. This latest naval flex isn't about 'pressure' for good governance; it's a very blunt, very expensive reminder of who still
calls the shots in the Western Hemisphere, particularly when there's an independent, oil-rich nation nearby. How many times must the US 'pressure' sovereign nations before we call it what it is: economic coercion backed by military might?