Groucho Marxism

The US has recently launched a military build up in the Caribbean, the likes of which has not been seen in the region for decades. Just last week, a Venezuelan oil tanker was seized by the US in an act of imperial piracy. It is pretty clear that the US is after Venezuela’s oil reserves: Venezuela has 303 billion barrels of crude oil in reserve, 20% of the world’s total and more than any other nation. Trump’s claim that his motive is targeting drug traffickers is obviously a smokescreen. Along with the naval build up, in preparation for further action the military base on Puerto Rico, closed following mass protests in 2004, has been re-opened. Puerto Rico, the last remaining US colony that was seized in 1898, has historically been a crucial base and training ground for the US military.

The US has wanted to overthrow of the Venezuelan government ever since the election of Hugo Chavez back in 1998. Unfortunately for the US, Chavez was popular with the Venezuelan people and won sweeping victories in election after election, making him difficult to depose. When Chavez died in 2013 and was replaced by Nicolas Maduro, the US smelled blood and imposed crippling sanctions and an economic blockade designed to strangle the economy and force regime change. As result, Venezuela has only managed to sell 4 of its 303 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, and the economy has gone into free-fall. Hyperinflation and shortages have all resulted in a devastating social collapse, resulting in country-wide opposition to Maduro’s regime.

How much this social collapse is down to US sanctions, as opposed to the corrupt and authoritarian Maduro regime, is a difficult and perhaps even impossible question to answer. The US sanctions have clearly had a significant impact – they must have done, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered implementing them – but Maduro and his regime must take a lot of the blame too. The problem for the people of Venezuela is that removing Maduro will not necessarily improve their situation. The right-wing opposition in Venezuela is a vicious Thatcherite coterie that will be ruthless in seeking revenge and enacting repressive anti-working class measures if it comes to power. This explains why the leader of this opposition, Maria Corina Machado, is so feted by the West.

Machado is so adored by Western nations that she was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, apparently for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” But what has Machado actually done? It’s difficult to find evidence of her doing anything other than protesting against Maduro in 2014 and leading the opposition to Maduro in the 2024 presidential election. Hardly seems worthy of a peace prize to me! Note also that there was a presidential election in 2024, as there was in 2018 and 2013. Frequent elections are not usually the sign of a dictatorship, although it should be noted that the 2024 election was mired in controversy and accusations of electoral fraud.

The US is clearly is aiming at regime change in Venezuela. At this stage, the US has not amassed sufficient forces for a full ground invasion; this is unlikely, but cannot be ruled out entirely. It is important that we oppose this imperialist intervention in Venezuela, just as we must oppose imperialist intervention everywhere. The usual rejoinder that opposition to such intervention entails support for the Maduro regime is based on a fallacy. We must oppose imperialist intervention as a matter of principle, regardless of the nature of the regime that is being intervened with. At the same time, we must also condemn Maduro and his government for making such an intervention feasible through their corrupt mismanagement of the Venezuelan economy.

The reasons the US is doing this now, as opposed to any other point in the 27 years since Chavez came to power, are twofold. First, the Venezuelan regime is weaker now than it has ever been during that 27-year period. And second, the Trump administration has decided to pivot away from starting wars elswhere in the world and towards starting wars in its own back yard. Trump has already intimated that Colombia might be next in the firing line, although that was probably an off-the-cuff idle threat. As already mentioned, the primary reason the US is attacking Venezuela is to take control of its vast oil reserves, which Colombia cannot match. No country can match Venezuela’s oil reserves, so it is really no surprise that the US has decided to attack it. The only surprising thing is that its taken them this long.