Trump's Geopolitics

This is very British, and I mean that in a bad way. It's a pivot to crude 19th-century style imperialism as practised by the UK, France and others.

The USA has always had a massive influence in Latin America: from the Contras to the Chile Coup, to the Bay of Pigs, etc. The USA imposed sanctions in regimes it did not like and the IMF has forced privatisations, which have also benefited American companies. None of this was about democracy. It has always been about keeping out 'communism' and, more importantly, having pliant trading partners. Often, it's involved propping up horrendous regimes that enriched a tiny elite and sold the nation's resources to America cheaply.

What Trump is doing sets a new precedent. It's abandoning the pretences of benign neutrality and the tactic of using proxies and directly bombing and invading a country. None of this is about democracy. It's about oil.

I am not a fan of Mafuro, but anyone who knows anything about the country will tell you Venezuela has been in a slow-burning civil war for about two decades. The opposition has frequently used violent means and is linked to Venezuela's pro-American oligarchs.

It's also about intimidating the rest of Latin America and Greenland.

FIFA Peace Prize. Yeah 🤣

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beckyromero · 36-40, F

None of this is about democracy. It's about oil.

Well, yes. This certainly isn't about democracy. Nor is it about drugs.

But it isn't even about oil. Surely, even this fascist gang couldn't believe they are going to be able to run a country nearly 50% LARGER than Afghanistan without several hundred U.S. troops on the ground and think the Venezuelans are going allow U.S. oil companies to extract THEIR oil, whether by a puppet regime or a U.S. overseer.

This is about the MID-TERMS.

(And, no, this isn't even remotely comparable to Iraq. Venezuela has not invaded any neighbors, nor attacked Israel, nor used weapons of mass destruction, nor plotted an attempt to assassinate a U.S. president).

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@beckyromero You could be right about the midterms. Though I think it will need several thousand troops there.

The one advantage that the government has is that there is a section of people in Venezuela who don't like the Americans there. The oligarchs and Conservative people.

But it will be fragile and violent.

beckyromero · 36-40, F

@Burnley123

it will be fragile and violent.

Can't see how it will be anything but that. Venezuela is one of the most violent countries on the planet.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@beckyromero And recent history shows that nobody wants to be occupied.

Elessar · 31-35, M

@beckyromero Nah it's not even that. They can perfectly win the election in the status quo, controlling the media and at most doing voting suppression and manipulation in those only 3-4 key states.