As we prepare to
post this it seems the campaign to unseat the government of Venezuela is
intensifying. We urge all reading this to speak out now. Contact Congress and
the White House. Write letters to the editor. Join in weekly peace
demonstrations held locally Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 10-11
a.m. Contact Peaceworks for more info.
Today
we in the United States find ourselves in a challenging political moment. The
Trump administration is threatened, with many of Trump’s closest allies
ensnarled in legal trouble, and his administration facing one embarrassing
defeat after another, from the 2018 midterms to the unpopular shutdown. The
President’s strategy seems to be one of distracting public attention from his
failings, even if it means doing something that will have terrible
consequences, for our country and/or others.
It
seems that this plays in to the decision to put regime change in Venezuela
front and center at the moment, something that delights Neo-Cons like National
Security Advisor John Bolton, even though this risks pushing that nation into a
bloody and destructive civil war.
Right
at the get-go we want to make it clear that Peaceworks is not offering a
blanket endorsement of the current Venezuelan government’s actions, some of
which are troubling. Rather, we are sharing our thinking as to what is
appropriate for our government to be doing right now.
First
and foremost, it is clear that pushing for the overthrow of that nation’s
government is not a legitimate use of our government’s economic, political or
military power. Moreover, it is likely to cause serious harm to the Venezuelan
people, and have adverse consequences for us as well.
While
interventions—overt and covert alike—by our government are quite familiar do we
not have to stop and ask ourselves, “Is this justifiable?” Clearly, there are
times when some form of international action is called for. The Rwandan
genocide is a good example. But such an action should be undertaken only in
extreme circumstances and with the blessings of the United Nations, not
unilateral action by the United States.
Some
might object and say “Maduro’s government is repressive.” Perhaps so, but how
many repressive governments are there in this world? And how many of these are
U.S. allies and client states? And, if it’s legitimate to attempt to take out Venezuela’s
government on these grounds, how many governments might be targeted for
replacement, and what else is legitimate?
Should
the U.S. unseat a government that uses the death penalty, which many recognize
as a human rights violation? What about one that harms the environment? This is
clearly a slippery slope. And, as many of us right now are rather unhappy over
Russia’s alleged interference in U.S. and other elections, how do we square
opposition to their electoral intervention here and support for U.S.
involvement in the process whereby other nations choose their leaders?
Those
of us who tune in to the mainstream media are subjected to a daily barrage of
condemnation of Nicolas Maduro’s government. While we are offered up countless
examples of how hard life is for the people of Venezuela, there is little
discussion as to why, except for vague claims by rightwingers that this is all
due to “socialism.”
The U.S. Role
One
factor that is fairly consistently overlooked is the twenty-plus year history
of our government attempting to undermine Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution.
The U.S. has consistently been in cahoots with the Venezuelan opposition. Washington
has supported coup attempts and helped fund opposition parties. It has also
used sanctions as a means of economic warfare.
The
CIA has been involved in several Venezuelan coup attempts, including it seems the
current one. Juan Guaido’s attempt to seize power is just the latest in a
string of attempts to remove Hugo Chavez or his successor Maduro. The main
difference is that this time the U.S. role is blatantly overt, with Trump
himself actively and publicly encouraging this violation of Venezuelan and
international law.
While
the current push to unseat President Maduro was launched in January, the U.S.’s
economic attack on Venezuela has been going on for years.
According
to The Independent, “Former special
rapporteur Alfred de Zayas, who finished his term at the UN in March, has
criticized the US for engaging in ‘economic warfare’ against Venezuela which he
said is hurting the economy and killing Venezuelans.”
They
further report: “Mr. de Zayas recommended, among other actions, that the
International Criminal Court investigate economic sanctions against Venezuela
as possible crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.”
Beyond
simply opposing the actions of any state that refuses to accept the neo-liberal
economic model, and the fear that any state succeeding in steering an
independent course could set an example that might be emulated by others, the
U.S., in this case, apparently has another, all-too-familiar motive.
Venezuela
has, depending upon how they are measured, the largest, or one of the largest, inventories
of proven petroleum reserves in the world. The Trump administration would like
to see U.S.-based companies take charge of developing and marketing these dirty
fuels.
In
fact, Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton recently told Fox News “We’re
in conversation with major American companies now . . . It will make a big
difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil
companies invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela.”
We
all know the Trump has basically zero respect for the truth and that, when it
comes to U.S. interventions around the world, our whole government has a habit
of telling those Big Lies over and over again. It is no surprise, therefore, to
hear prominent Neo-Con Elliott Abrams, who has been made Trump's point-person on Venezuela, talking about “U.S. efforts to restore Democracy in Venezuela,” and apparently doing
so with a straight face.
On
the other hand, some analysts do seem to get it right. On January 30, former UN
special rapporteur Alfred de Zayas tweeted: “The disinformation campaign about Venezuela is reminiscent of the
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq 2003.” Seems to us like he’s got that
right.
While
the administration’s plan of attack is unclear, whether that includes overt U.S.
military intervention, covert actions, or just the use of proxies, it is clear
that the stakes are quite high. First and foremost millions of Venezuelan
citizens are in harm’s way. They are already suffering due to the ongoing
economic warfare and, if this comes to actual hostilities, with bullets and
bombs flying, many innocent people may lose their lives.
Moreover,
if the Venezuelan people lose the ability to choose their own future, this is
problematic not just for them, but for others around the world, as it would set
an example and encourage similar actions in the future. For all these reasons
and more, we urge you to join Peaceworks in opposing our government’s actions
aimed at regime change in Venezuela. The time to make our voices heard is now.
