American Oil Politics And The Venezuelan Invasion

Waking up to the news of American Venezuelan invasion should not be such a big surprise, although Trump’s timing is creatively creative. Invading countries with oil, is what America does. What is playing out in the American Venezuelan invasion is simply American oil politics. It is a beaten path, a familiar pattern. America always goes where the oil is. And if it is not oil, then it has to be some solid minerals, probably lithium or something equally precious. But to pull off a Kansas City Shuffle, in the opening up of a theater of operation in Nigeria, supposedly against the ‘purveyors of Christian genocide’, getting all eyes focused on this, while planning and executing a lightning strike and massive American Venezuelan invasion and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, including his wife Flores, is nothing short of a sleight of hand; a master magician’s performance of getting his audience to focus attention somewhere else, any place else, except the place where the trick is being effected.

The quote, “Nothing is certain, except death and taxes” attributed to Benjamin Franklin 1789, one of the founding fathers of the United States, could easily be rewritten as, “Nothing is certain, except death, taxes and American invasion of oil rich countries”. It seems to be an unchangeable maxim of American foreign policy which never changes whether the man in the Oval Office is a Democrat or a Republican. The only other factor that seems to determine American military action apart from access to the resources of sovereign nations, is her commitment to the containment of global communism. However, a pretext is always given to mask this foreign policy maxims as in the case of American Venezuelan invasion.

While contributing to a discussion on America and why that nation does what she does, an individual familiar with Ibon Foundation, a leading Philippine, non-profit, independent think-tank established in 1978 and dedicated to socioeconomic research, education and advocacy, has this to say, “Took some digging to get a sense of what makes up the numbers, but here is what I found: The United States engaged in numerous direct military interventions and proxy conflicts during the Cold War. While it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact number due to the complex nature of some interventions, a study by the IBON Foundation indicates the US has used its military or supported interventions in at least 96 countries since World War II. This includes both direct invasions and proxy wars fought through supporting opposing factions within other nations.

The United States’ extensive overseas military engagements since World War II have resulted in millions of deaths worldwide. Since 1945, the US has used its global network of bases and military agreements to invade or intervene in 96 countries. These operations started during the so-called Cold War, as the US sought to prevent communist expansion, and continue today under a self-declared war on terror. The U.S. deploys its military forces under various pretexts including peacekeeping, humanitarian intervention, enforcement of international law, democratization, alliance-building, counterterrorism and ironically even preventing war. Its interventions range from direct military actions to covert operations to military support for client states. Lasting from days or weeks to over many years, these result in significant loss of life.
The first proxy war of the Cold War was in Greece from 1947-1950 when the US provided vast military support for the Greek government to prevent it from falling into the Soviet sphere of influence. This started decades of military intervention and assistance by the US to contain the spread of communist ideals and influence.
• Korea (1950-1953) – US forces joined South Korea in its war with North Korea, which was among the deadliest of the Cold War era.
• Iranian Coup D’Etat – 1953
• Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (1955-1975) – US forces supported and eventually joined South Vietnam in its war against North Vietnam; this longest and deadliest conflict of the Cold War included massive bombing campaigns on Laos and Cambodia.
• Guatemala (1960-1996) – The US supported consecutive dictatorships with military and other assistance especially for its anti-communist operations.
• Indonesia (1958-1961) – The US supported Permesta rebels against the Sukarno government, and also backed the eventually successful Suharto coup.
• Cuba (1961) – The US supported the Bay of Pigs invasion which tried to overthrow the Cuban government.
• Colombia (1964-2013) – The US sent special operations forces and provided massive military assistance for counterinsurgency and later counter-narcotics operations.
• Dominican Republic (1965-1966) – The U.S. invaded the Dominican Republic to ensure a reliable client state.
• Congo (1967) – The US supported the Mobutu regime with military hardware and munitions.
• Chile (1973) – The US supported the military coup to overthrow Salvador Allende and then also the dictatorship that followed.
• East Timor (1975-1999) – The US supported Indonesian invasion forces.
• Angola (1976-1992) – The US supported military resistance and coup attempts against the Leftist government.
• El Salvador (1979-1992) – The US supported the military dictatorship and its efforts against the leftist insurgency.
• Nicaragua (1981-1988) – The US supported right-wing Contras to combat the leftist Sandinista government.
• Grenada (1983) – The US invaded Grenada to ensure a reliable client state.

The US continued with its overseas military interventions even as the Cold War wound down:
• Libya (1986) – The US bombing of Libya was among its earliest attacks which used international terrorism as a justification.
• Iran (1987-1988) – The US fought naval and air battles against Iran, including shooting down a civilian airliner killing everyone on board.
• Panama (1989-1990) – The US invaded Panama to overthrow the government.
• Iraq (1990-2003) – The US launched air and ground offensives to expel Iraq from Kuwait during the Gulf War, followed by bombings and crippling economic sanctions on Iraq until 2003.
• Somalia (1992-1995) – The US invaded Somalia to secure its oil reserves for American corporations.
• Haiti (1994-1995) – The US invaded Haiti to reinstate an allied government overthrown by a coup.
• Yugoslavia (1993-1999) – Under the cover of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations, the U.S’s air combat and bombings in the former Yugoslavia were its first in Europe since World War Two.

In the 21st century, the US used its so-called war on terror to justify large-scale invasions, attacks and many other military interventions:
• Afghanistan (2001-2021) – The US invaded Afghanistan on the pretext of responding to the 9/11 terrorist attack and going after Al-Qaeda.
• Yemen (2002-2023) – The US sent special operations forces into Yemen and launched the first of hundreds of drone strikes against Al-Qaeda.
• Iraq (2003-2011; 2014-2021) – The US invaded Iraq on the pretext of going after weapons of mass destruction to overthrow the government of former ally Saddam Hussein; this was followed by air strikes and military support against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
• Pakistan (2001; 2004- 2018) – The US deployed troops for its invasion of Afghanistan and attacks on Al-Qaeda; it later also launched hundreds of drone strikes to support the government against rebel groups.
• Somalia (2007-2024) – The US conducts drone strikes, air strikes and ground operations against supposed terrorists.
• Libya (2011-2020) – Under the cover of NATO operations, the US conducted air, drone and artillery strikes to overthrow the Muammar al-Qaddafi government.
• Syria (2014-2021) – The US conducts drone strikes, air strikes and ground operations against ISIS.
• Ukraine (2022-present) – The US attempted to expand US influence to Russia’s borders by including Ukraine in NATO provoked Russia to invade Ukraine; it is fighting a proxy war with Russia through massive military support to Ukraine.
• Palestine (2023-present) – The US is the strongest supporter of Israel in its genocidal war on Palestine; Israel is already the largest cumulative recipient of US military aid which even increased three-fold in 2024 since the attacks on Gaza.
The U.S’ hostile military actions abroad violate the United Nations (UN) Charter’s provisions on peaceful settlement of disputes and refraining from the use of armed force except in self-defense after an armed attack by another state. None of the countries the U.S. has invaded or attacked previously initiated hostilities against her. The U.S. acts without Security Council approval when it wants to and also systematically violates many other U.N. resolutions and international law.
The most severe of the U.S’ acts of aggression have resulted in some
13 – 23 million deaths in at least 28 nations. Direct US military actions in at least 16 countries have caused around
7 – 13 million deaths.
U.S-supported or -instigated armed conflicts in 19 countries have led to some 6 – 10 million deaths. There are countries where the US has engaged both directly in combat and indirectly through active military support. These figures still do not include casualties from all the governments the US has supported militarily in their domestic conflicts against supposed insurgents and other political opposition. Many tens of thousands more have been killed by client states with US support and using U.S-funded and -supplied war materials, such as in the Philippines. These extensive casualties underscore the high human cost of the U.S’ militarist strategy for maintaining its global hegemony. Ensuring the political subservience of governments to conform with U.S. geopolitical objectives and ensuring access to countries’ economic and natural resources are essential to this. Hope this helps”

In view of the fact that the role of the United States in the turmoil that engulfed Liberia, a relatively small West African nation, in the recent past, was not accounted for by the list above is an indication that a complete and accurate figure will be difficult to come by. Still the Americas Venezuelan invasion can be taken to be the 98th time the United States is intervening in a foreign country, with Nigeria being the 97th. It should also be noted that Nicolas Maduro is the fourth President to be hunted and captured by the United States.

Why then should any avid watcher of international politics be surprised by the American Venezuelan invasion?

Truth be told, it has been a long time coming for Maduro. Maduro’s government was widely seen as authoritarian, characterized by electoral fraud, human rights abuses, corruption and severe economic hardship. Under Maduro’s administration, more than 20,000 people had been subject to extrajudicial killings and seven million Venezuelans were forced to flee the country. In January 2019, after he was sworn in as president, the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution declaring his presidency illegitimate and calling for new elections. The National Assembly invoked a state of emergency and some countries removed their embassies from Venezuela, notably, Colombia and the United States. In 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the opening of an investigation regarding the Venezuelan situation. Maduro denied every allegation of misconduct and claimed that it is all a plot by the United States to get him out of power.

To make matters worse, Maduro and his wife Flores came under investigation in the United States after two nephews of Flores, Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, were apprehended by the US Drug Enforcement Administration for the illegal distribution of cocaine on 10 November 2015, while carrying diplomatic passports. They were found guilty in a U.S. court, of conspiracy to import cocaine in November 2016, with some of their funds attributed to possibly assisting Maduro’s presidential campaigns. On 26 March 2020, the United States Department of Justice charged Maduro and other Venezuelan officials and some Colombian former FARC members, for narco-terrorism: the shipping of cocaine to the U.S. to wage a health war on U.S. citizens. The U.S. government offered $15 million for any information that would lead to his arrest. After Maduro was inaugurated for a third term on 10 January 2025, the reward was increased to $25 million. The reward was increased again to $50 million on 7 August 2025 while the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Maduro of collaborating with foreign terrorist organizations to bring deadly violence to the United States. Bondi described Maduro as one of the “world’s most notorious narco-traffickers” and a “threat to national security” promising that Maduro will not escape justice. Maduro however went on national television to dare Trump to arrest him, while warning American leaders that such an action would provoke a response that could also lead to the end of the American empire.

It remains to be seen where the American Venezuelan invasion will lead. However, judging by Trump’s pronouncements that Venezuela will be administered by the U.S. until new elections and that American companies will be going in to operate the Venezuelan oil industry, although the Venezuelan military has a contrary opinion to that, it is obvious that this invasion is not only about ‘narco-terrorism’ and ‘threat to national security’. It is more about imperialistic resource control and petro-dollars.