Trump Authorizes CIA Actions In Venezuela (And Possibly Military Strikes)

On Wednesday, Donald Trump acknowledged that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert actions in Venezuela. The purpose is to topple the Maduro regime in that country.

Evidently, Trump is ignoring the history of these kind of CIA activities in other countries. That history has not been a good one. The Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba was an embarrassment for the United States. When the CIA toppled the elected government in Iran, it just resulted in a religious takeover in that country one that is still causing problems. And when the CIA toppled the elected government in Chile, it resulted in many years of a brutal right-wing government.

The Trump actions could even get worse. If the CIA covert actions don't have the desired result, he is considering military strikes on Venezuelan territory. That would be an act of war that could result in another quagmire (remember Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan). Congress needs to put a stop to that before it happens!

The Maduro regime has not been good for Venezuela. But there are many dictatorships in the world. It is wrong for this country to engage in the politics of other countries. The people of other countries deserve to handle their own affairs without U.S. involvement. When the people of Venezuela have had enough of Maduro, they will get rid of him (like other countries have done with past dictators).

You might wonder why Trump is singling out Venezuela to attack. The simple answer is OIL!

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world - even larger than those of Saudi Arabia and Iran. And those oil reserves were controlled by the large U.S. oil companies in the past. But when the leftist government was elected (in a fair election), they nationalized the nation's oil reserves - taking it from the U.S. companies and using it for the good of Venezuelans.

Trump doesn't really care that the leftist government in Venezuela has become a dictatorship. He admires many of the world's dictators (and would love to become one himself). 

Trump has already given his buddies in Big Oil a gift by damaging the development of renewable energies and withdrawing from the Paris Accords. Now he wants to give them the biggest prize of all - control of the world's largest oil reserves (and you can bet he expects to benefit financially from doing that).

Don't be fooled into thinking this is about democracy or freedom. If Maduro is toppled, it would most likely be replaced by a right-wing dictatorship (as has happened in the past when the U.S. tried this kind of thing). It's about oil and money (which is the only thing Trump really cares about).