It Was Always About Oil

The smokescreen has lifted. The Trump fascination with Venezuela was never about drugs, it was always about the oil. Now that the dog has caught the car, what next? There seems to have been a great deal of planning in capturing and removing president Maduro and his wife, but Trump’s announcement that we would “manage Venezuela until such time that we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” is a statement waiting on a plan.

Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s VP took the oath of office, and she will run things as long as she “does what we want,” according to Trump. He has no plans to support Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado who was such a threat to Maduro that Maduro disqualified her in the last election. Maybe she could give her peace prize to Trump for some consideration.

Trump promptly announced that US oil experts would be reclaiming the oil rights that Venezuela had “stolen” from them/us when it nationalized the industry. He went on to brag about the US military operation in terms that would make a wrestling promoter jealous. Even though this was a military operation, Trump is trying to call it a “law enforcement” action. Perhaps he is trying to stay within the U.N. Charter that prohibits a nation from using force on the sovereign territory of another country without its consent or in self-defense. Our occupation of Venezuela also would violate that charter and international law.

While Maduro, his wife, their son, and two other Venezuelan officials are now being charged with cocaine smuggling in New York. This group needs to contact Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras who was convicted of importing over 400 tons of cocaine but got pardoned by Trump. Perhaps they could offer to build the Trump-Caracas Golf and Country Club at no charge. Maybe a sizeable donation to the Trump Ballroom would be in order.

With the announcement that US industry would be reclaiming Venezuelan oil rights, it is totally clear that the pretext of cocaine is nothing more than a distraction and an excuse to grab the world’s largest oil supply. Only 8-10% of cocaine smuggled into the U.S. comes through Venezuela. The vast majority comes from Columbia through Mexico. It was always about the oil.

Now we must wait and see how this all works out. The U.S. has such a great track record conquering countries and then successfully turning them around. For the history buffs, you can look at Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, Chile in 1973, South Vietnam in 1963, and Iraq in 2003. While we never “took over” Afghanistan in 2001, we did topple the ruling Taliban government. Then we tried our hand at nation building for the next two decades. We then abandoned Afghanistan in 2020 and the Taliban seized control of Kabul iin 2021. Yes, plans for that Trump-Caracas Golf and Country Club may be a bit premature.