The focus is now on Venezuela, but the US is really the key actor in this long-running drama. In reality, Venezuela is simply another repeat victim in the US centuries-long imperial campaign that began with the genocide of American Indians. Ever since then, and particularly since WWII, the US has pursued an expansive and aggressive foreign policy.
William Blum, a former State Department official, addressed US foreign policy in his series of books and articles. His 2004 book, Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II, documented US interference in the political affairs in over 50 nations between 1945 and 1994, and US interventions have not stopped. For example, earlier this century we saw false claims from politicians and non-governmental organizations that the mainstream media spread widely about Iraq and Libya. These bogus claims were used to ‘justify’ criminal attacks that devastated these nations and caused almost inconceivable suffering and loss of life throughout the now destabilized Middle East.
The mainstream media is certainly a key element in convincing the public of the alleged good intentions of the US in all these interferences in the political affairs of other nations. The media echoes and expands the reach of US politicians who offer some positive-sounding excuse to the public as to why the US must either oust a leader or to attack another nation. Among all its many interventions, the US has been particularly active in Central and South America.
For example, in 1933 US Marine Corps legend, Major General Smedley Butler, discussed the reality when he described his early 20th-century experiences.
“War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.” …
“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. … And during that period … I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.”
“I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”
In 1966 General David M. Shoup, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, echoed Butler. Shoup said:
“I believe that if we had and would keep our dirty, bloody, dollar-soaked fingers out of the business of these nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own … at least what they get will be their own, and not the American style, which they don’t want and above all don’t want crammed down their throats by America.”
Three of these US supported coups are of particular interest. The first was the savage coup against President Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973 that led to the brutal Pinochet military dictatorship. Showing the US leaders disdain for democracy, after Allende’s election in 1970 Henry Kissinger commented: “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.”
In 2002 the US supported the coup, claimed done in the name of democracy, against Hugo Chávez, the democratically elected Venezuelan leader. According to William Blum, Monty Python legend Terry Jones described the coup as: Chávez was ousted in “a free and fair democratic coup, only to be returned to office two days later on what seems to have been little more than the whim of the people.”
In 2009 the US went against international opinion, including that of the Organization of American States, and recognized the result of the coup in Honduras against Manual Zeyala, the democratically-elected President. In 2013, Juan Orlando Hernández became the Honduran President in an election marred by claims of large numbers of voting irregularities and fraud. Hernández was and is a close ally of the US. In 2017, the US again went against international opinion and recognized Hernández as the winner of the election over Salvador Nasralla. This declaration flew in the face of an overwhelming early advantage for Nasralla and even the US-dominated OAS challenged the result and called for a new election. However, the US recognition of this highly doubtful outcome settled the matter. These events reinforce the idea that democracy is not a key concern of the US.
In 1999 former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali provided his take on the US.
“It would be some time before I fully realized that the United States sees little need for diplomacy; power is enough. Only the weak rely on diplomacy. This is why the weak are so deeply concerned with the democratic principle of the sovereign equality of states, as a means of providing some small measure of equality for that which is not equal in fact.”
This takes us to Venezuela, the latest target for US intervention. There is indeed a split in the Venezuelan population that the US is again trying to use to its advantage. The primarily white oligarchs and wealthy who received most of the benefits from the natural resources want a return to that former state that preceded the election of Chávez. However, the large majority of the population is primarily poor and non-white. They have tremendously benefited from the Chávez and Maduro administrations allocating a greater amount of the Venezuelan wealth than previously to social programs that have made a huge positive difference in their lives.
The US again falsely claims it’s supporting democracy as it tries to foist a person, essentially unknown to most of the Venezuelan public until last month, upon it as its president. An excellent article by Cohen and Blumenthal demonstrated the role of the US in transforming the image of a violent opposition activist into being a respectable choice to lead Venezuela. In an attempt to justify this criminal imposition, the US media continually refer to Nicolas Maduro, the legitimately elected President as being illegitimate and a dictator. These claims about Maduro have no basis in fact and are reminiscent of the ‘big lie’ approach. In addition, President Maduro, despite his failings and relatively low popularity, has earned overwhelming support among the people for his defense of Venezuelan democracy and sovereignty.
We are now expected to believe that the US has suddenly changed under the current administration and supports democracy in Venezuela. It’s especially hard to believe that a nation whose cruel and illegal sanctions have played a major role in the devastation of the Venezuelan economy and creation of shortages of food and medicine has no ulterior motive in its offer of humanitarian aid. However, given the incredibly biased US mainstream media coverage, most of the public knows little about the reality of what is happening in Venezuela.
Instead of accepting or supporting this illegal coup attempt, let’s defend Venezuelan democracy and sovereignty. Let’s campaign for an end to the illegal and incredibly harsh economic war the US is conducting against Venezuela. In addition, let’s push for negotiations led by the Vatican, Mexico and Uruguay in an attempt to prevent a bloody and costly civil war or a military intervention by the US or its client states.
Ron Forthofer, Ph.D. is retired Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas; former Green Party candidate for Congress and for Governor of Colorado