Venezuela is not being punished. It is being re-made. Not into a liberal democracy. Not into a stable autocracy. Into something more useful. Into a Pakistan. By this, I do not mean a people or a culture. I mean a regime form (as what Bush did to Maduro’s earlier Iraqi doppelgänger): a state kept permanently unstable, permanently securitised, and permanently dependent; yet intact enough to sign contracts, police its population, and function as leverage against rivals. This is the form Empire prefers when it can no longer rule directly.
1) Why Venezuela Matters
Venezuela is not peripheral. It is inconveniently rich.
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The largest proven oil reserves in the world (over 300 billion barrels)
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Significant natural gas
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Large gold reserves
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Access to rare earths
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Control of the Caribbean–Atlantic corridor, close to major shipping lanes and the US mainland
A sovereign Venezuela is not a local problem. It is a potential pole. This is why it cannot be allowed to work. Donald Trump said the quiet part out loud: Venezuela has “all that oil.” It should be “ours.” The language was crude. The intent was orthodox. What matters is not the tone, but the continuity of aim.
2) Sanctions as a Weapon System Continue reading Venezuela as Pakistan: A Template, Not an Accident