The U.S. has a pattern of overthrowing governments when it serves corporate interests: Guatemala in 1954, Chile in 1973, Iraq in 2003. Venezuela is next, with the fentanyl crisis used as cover for seizing oil reserves. Trump's appointment of an ExxonMobil CEO as Secretary of State makes the motive obvious.
Chapters
I went to school once with a sociopath. Grade 7. His name was Brian. Big kid. Brian's only real consideration was himself. He didn't hold doors because there's nothing in it for him. He would walk up, take food straight out of your lunch. No asking, no eye contact. If you spoke to him and it didn't benefit him, he simply didn't answer. Rules are fine. As long as they apply to someone else. And then one day, Brian came walking down the hall. He was in tears. The vice principal was in tow. The two of them came up to me and a couple of kids in the hall. The vice principal says, "Brian wants to know why you hate him so much." The US invaded another country and kidnapped its president overnight. It was illegal under international law and under its own laws for that matter, although I think it's obvious to any country other than itself that it's just simply suspended laws now. The US is often confused by how other countries see it. I've always thought the most clear example of this was 9/11. Here, outside the States, we watched news reports of Americans being interviewed, and almost every one of them was a variation on, "Why would someone do this to us? What have we ever done to them? Don't they like freedom?" No, what we don't like is arrogance and hypocrisy. Somehow the US bought into this mythology that it's like the global police force, the world's justice system. Look, those things already exist internationally. They come with courts, they come with treaties and inspectors and rules that are supposed to apply to everyone, especially the big kids. But the US has opted out of major parts of that system. It never joined the International Criminal Court. It never ratified the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty or the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, even while enforcing its rules when convenient. Maybe most horrifyingly, some of the additional protocols of the Geneva Convention, the ones that strengthen protections for civilians and limit methods of warfare, were sent to the Senate in 1987. They are still waiting for a vote. Rules are fine. As long as they apply to someone else. Look, that pattern didn't start in Venezuela. In 1954, the CIA helped overthrow Guatemala's democratically elected government. Why? Land reform threatened US corporate interests. Money. 2003, Iraq. Weapons of mass destruction. Mobile labs. Aluminum tubes. And none of it was true. The US went around the UN Security Council when it couldn't get approval and invaded anyway. Why? To regain influence over the global oil system. Money. 1973, the US backed a coup in Chile because the country had nationalized copper mines owned by American companies. Money. The justification for Venezuela was fentanyl. Which is laughable, it's not even made there. If this is about drugs, why did the US pardon the president of Honduras who was convicted for trafficking 400 tons of cocaine into the States? Of course it's the money. Trump even said so this morning. The US would take control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves and recruit American companies to move in. Remember, who did Trump pick to serve as Secretary of State in his first term? The chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil. In other words, your sovereignty is an inconvenience to our ability to enrich ourselves. Let's be clear about this. What the US did is an act of war, and it should be a stark warning to nations like Greenland and yes, Canada. With all our oil reserves the US wants and the critical minerals it desperately needs, Trump's already been laying the groundwork with false claims about fentanyl here, even as recently as this morning. We lost it to drugs. Plenty come in through Canada too, by the way. And if you think I'm overreacting, know that the Canadian military has confirmed it is setting up air defense systems, hiring more forces, and even considering how a civilian force would work. Which is why it is especially baffling that according to a tweet from its leader today, The Conservative Party of Canada is squarely in Trump's corner. But that, my American friends, and you are friends, that is why the world doesn't trust your country. It's not about freedom. It's about decency. Being strong doesn't mean you get to ignore the rules. Being strong means that you are strong enough to follow them. Even when you don't like the outcome. Brian, Brian never thought of himself as the villain. He thought he was practical, efficient, above the inconvenient rules of the classroom. Teachers spent years cleaning up his messes while the rest of us learned to keep our lunches close and our expectations low. No one trusted Brian. No one wanted to be around him, even when he needed help. And eventually, everyone noticed that wherever Brian went, things got worse.
