Venezuela, Oil, and the Silenced Memory of History
It emphasizes the central role of oil in modern imperialism and how struggles for dominance are violently suppressed. Keeping historical memory alive is critical for developing resistance against similar interventions. For a more in-depth reading, research into Venezuela's oil history, US policies in Latin America (e.g., the Monroe Doctrine), and global energy geopolitics is recommended.
Trump…
This figure, presenting himself with the language of peace, once again laid bare the ancient reflex of empire.
The aggression toward Venezuela and the forced detention of a country’s head of state were neither an “operational error” nor a momentary political deviation. This is the naked truth of the structure we call the world order:
Power mistakes itself for law.
The United States, as the illegitimate heir of British colonialism, has institutionalized not only destruction but also the forgetting of that destruction. The real tragedy is that this forgetting is not forced—it is voluntary. Humanity seems tired of memorizing the record of its executioner.
What emboldens imperialism is not the power of its weapons,
but the silence of the world.
The silence of states,
the silence of intellectuals,
and the silence of societies living under the illusion that “it won’t be our turn”…
Yet history has repeated the same sentence time and again:
From Allende to Bishop,
from Torrijos to Najibullah,
from Ceaușescu to Saddam,
from Gaddafi to thousands of unnamed victims…
The names change, the method does not.
The wolf knows the flock.
The empire is never without a pretext.
Once it was “democracy,”
then “human rights,”
today it is “narcotics.”
But beneath all masks lies a single truth:
Oil.
Oil, the blackened blood of the earth,
is the center not only of the global economy but also of modern wars.
From the “Seven Sisters” to the IMF,
from coups to sanctions—the common question running through the entire chain is:
To whom does what lies beneath the soil belong?
Half a century ago, Venezuela gave a dangerous answer to this question:
“This oil is ours.”
That was the crime.
From the nationalization in 1976 to the second wave during the Chávez era, Venezuela tried to make its resources belong to its people.
But every act of sovereignty gave birth to a new punishment.
Every punishment meant further siege.
Today, Trump has returned.
Not for peace,
but to complete an unfinished plunder.
He declares Venezuela’s oil “stolen.”
As if history could be erased by a presidential speech.
As if what was nationalized half a century ago still belonged to the empire.
Yet the truth is clear:
The thief is the one who shouts “thief” the loudest.
The one who is afraid labels the other a “terrorist.”
Venezuela is being punished today—
not because of drugs,
not under the pretext of democracy.
It is targeted for one reason only:
Because it wanted to be the master of its own destiny.
And that, in the language of empire, is an unforgivable sin.
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