Venezuela – Trump’s New Escape
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 28 Jan 2019
Marc Pilisuk – TRANSCEND Media Service
25 Jan 2019 – In El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, crime, economic destitution, police violence are driving people to seek refuge. The governments of these countries are there precisely because of US intervention aimed at preserving US corporate dominance of their economies in the face of reformist leaders who tried to retain some usage of resources for the benefit of their own countries.
Several Latin American countries are now named by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and National Security Advisor John Bolton as targets for similar regime change. The most immediate target, Venezuela, is facing a coup and a likely civil war as President Maduro, two months after his re-election, is being replaced by an arbitrarily selected opponent now being recognized by the US.
Two other announced members of the evil “troika” are Nicaragua and Cuba, both accused of debasing democracy and possessing a ruined “socialist” economy. What the three have in common:
- They have not given in to the pressures of the US to agree to corporate sponsored authoritarian rulers.
- They are weak enough to provide the bloody diversionary military intervention that Trump needs to enlist congressional support across the aisles as he continues to face serious charges for continuing to privatize and diminish education, healthcare, environmental protection and human services.
Trump’s recent embarrassment among his base over shutting down government without funding a wall is a serious matter. Attacking Iran would be too costly but Venezuela could be Trump’s parachute. The demonization has begun.
Key Democrats are supporting this. Remembering the US record in Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti, it would be well to call for dialogue before the coup brings the curse of war.
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Marc Pilisuk, Ph.D. is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment, professor emeritus University of California, and a faculty at Saybrook University, Berkeley. He is an author of 10 books including a 3-volume anthology, Peace Movements Worldwide, with Michael Nagler (Eds) Santa Barbara, 2011; and The Hidden Structure of Violence: Who Benefits from Global Violence and War, with Jennifer Achord Rountree, 2015. He was a founding member of the first Teach-In, The Society Against Nuclear Explosions, and The Psychologists for Social Responsibility and a past president of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence. Among his recognitions is the Howard Zinn Award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association. Email: mpilisuk@saybrook.edu
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 28 Jan 2019.
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