Perhaps the most blatant of all the
recent acts is Trump’s own declaration that the U.S. will “take
control” of Venezuela “for a while” to seize and exploit the oil resources of
the country. He will undoubtedly place a right-wing dictator beholden to him in
charge of the country, opening the door to yet another avenue for foreign money
flowing to him. Similarly, oil companies will compete with one another for access
to the seized assets, meaning more money being laundered to Trump, his family,
and other supporters in this spoils-of-war system.
It also sets the U.S. up to occupy
a country that, while holding no love Maduro, likely won’t be happy to exchange
a left-wing dictator who bankrupted and impoverished their country with a right-wing
one who is doing the same. The U.S. has a long history of propping up unpopular
despots with embedded troops, which hasn’t gone particularly well since Korea
(where there was at least U.S. and UN support for the sovereignty of South
Korea). Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria have been fruitless fiascos,
producing corrupt unstable dictatorships at best (Iraq), or leaving our enemies
in charge at worst (Iran, Afghanistan, and Vietnam until the 1990s).
Like so many of Trump’s
militaristic foreign policy misadventures, there seems to be no long-term plan
or strategy beyond executing lightning strikes in the hope that it produces
desired results. While Iran is currently in turmoil, the world does not seem to
be safer, more peaceful, or more orderly as a result.
