cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7023541
cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/13249
The Trump White House indicated Thursday that the administration is planning to seize more Venezuelan oil vessels after the president of the South American nation, Nicolás Maduro, denounced the US takeover of a tanker earlier this week as "an act of international piracy."
Reuters reported Thursday that the Trump administration, which has claimed without evidence to be targeting drug traffickers, "is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil" as it ramps up its lawless military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific—and threatens a direct military assault on Venezuela.
In response to the Reuters story, which cited six unnamed sources, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that "we're not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world."
The US seizure of the Venezuelan tanker and its oil earlier this week marked the Trump administration's latest escalation in what experts and critics fear is a march to an unlawful, all-out war with the South American country.
"I have no idea why the president is seizing an oil tanker," US Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Thursday. "I’m fairly gravely concerned that he’s sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela."
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Al Jazeera that the oil vessel seizure "is certainly an escalation designed to put additional pressure on the Maduro regime, causing it to fracture internally or convincing Maduro to leave."
“The purpose also depends on whether the US seizes additional tankers,” he added. “In that case, this looks like a blockade of Venezuela. Because Venezuela depends so heavily on oil revenue, it could not withstand such a blockade for long.”
US lawmakers in both the House and Senate are pursuing war powers resolutions aimed at preventing the Trump administration from engaging in military conflict with Venezuela without congressional approval.
“Whatever this is about, it has nothing to do with stopping drugs," said US Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). "To me, this appears to be all about creating a pretext for regime change. And I believe Congress has a duty to step in and assert our constitutional authority. No more illegal boat strikes, and no unauthorized war in Venezuela."
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Bro the USA still would take it, just because you switched from gold to say Bitcoin doesn't change the value of gold to those who lust for Gold.
Exactly. But it wouldn’t matter and would hurt them in two ways. First, during transition, the US would steal your oil and use it for themselves, creating a dependency on your supply. But you eventually stop ordering oil, which fucks the US over since their supply suddenly dries up. Finally, money decides everything in American politics. If you make an entire country stop buying oil, big oil is going to stop buying republicans.
I'll go slower for you. The USA is taking that oil over Venezuelas dead bodies. It doesn't matter if they are pumping it out of the ground and using it or selling it, or nothing at all. The only thing this country loves is g.o.d. Gold, oil, drugs. See fort Knox, see Iraq, see Afghanistan.
After the US overthrows a government for natural resources, it sends in American corporations to profit / benefit Americans involved in that industry. The locals get nothing. This is the neocolonial playbook.
Typically what happens is the Americans will install a US friendly government that is pro neoliberal so it looks like the country is accepting those corporations with open arms. All under the guise of "spreading democracy".
There are countless examples but a notable one is Iran. In the chaos of the people revolting against the US installed government, a theocracy took hold which persists to this day.
Pivoting to renewables would protect the local population to a degree but it would not change the American imperial strategy in a meaningful way.
So ruin the natural resources? Drill your own wells and dope them with something that ruins the oil so it can’t be used.