By Nino Pagliccia
The foreign policy of the United States has never been rational and consistent. Its imperial ideology obfuscates the minds of its politicians who become blind to the consequences of their decisions. We have seen that clearly in their actions in Iraq, Libya, Syria and other countries. But when we look at the imperial performance of the United States in our Latin American countries, history becomes very long with interventions that invariably impose repressive rightwing governments.
We know that story very well. In fact in Venezuela we are living at this moment a brutal intervention in the form of unilateral coercive measures (sanctions) and an intensive media war that demand our resistance at a very high cost to all Venezuelans. The rulers of the United States intend to impose a “regime change” in Venezuela against any democratic rule of domestic and international law.
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The Washington Post, which usually faithfully represents Washington’s policy, in its June 5 issue quotes the following words of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that were secretly recorded:
“Our conundrum, which is to keep the opposition united, has proven devilishly difficult. The moment Maduro leaves, everybody’s going to raise their hands and [say], ‘Take me, I’m the next president of Venezuela.’ It would be forty-plus people who believe they’re the rightful heirs to Maduro. ” [1]
He also claimed that this division existed from the moment he was appointed director of the CIA in 2017.
That statement reveals a fact that seems to surprise the Washington Post but it does not surprise Venezuelans. We know very well the so-called “Venezuelan opposition” minority, which should rather be called “Venezuelan obstruction” to differentiate it from the legitimate opposition that participates democratically in the political process of Venezuela.
We know very well that the only thing that obstructionists have in common is ambition and individual greedy interests. But that is a weakness rather than a unifying force, and is in opposition to the needs and values of the majority of Venezuelans.
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Pompeo lacks the courage to acknowledge that the United States has been the direct and responsible promoters of the creation of that obstructionist force in Venezuela for its determination to “fish in troubled waters.” And that is precisely what has made them blind and has made them trust an obstructionist unknown person like Juan Guaidó believing that Venezuelans would be fooled.
But what is important about Pompeo’s statement is what he does not mention and stands out for its omission. That is, out of those “forty-plus people”, there are millions of Venezuelans who are united. They are united by values that transcend individual interests. They are united by their belief that all patriotic Venezuelans are heirs of Liberator Simón Bolívar. They are united by the defense of their right to sovereignty and independence from all foreign and colonial forces. They are united by an historic revolutionary project that was taken up from Bolivarian ideals by Commander Hugo Chávez, it is maintained by the democratic leadership of President Nicolás Maduro, and is carried out by a revolutionary people with social conscience, aware of their constitutionally granted protagonist role.
The strength of Venezuela lies in the civic-military unity that supports its institutions and rejects treason. But this solidarity force of the majority of the Venezuelan people is ignored, unknown or inconceivable by the government of the United States and that is precisely the surprise element that will win the war against any attempt of imperial intervention in Venezuela.
Note
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/exclusive-pompeo-opens-up-about-venezuelas-opposition-says-keeping-it-united-has-proven-devilishly-difficult/2019/06/05/85385a33-8eae-4ba5-a9ac-6b7b8c3d5762_story.html
Featured image: President Nicolás Maduro, 2016. (Cancillería del Ecuador via Flickr)
Nino Pagliccia
Nino Pagliccia is a Venezuelan-Canadian statistician who writes about international relations with a focus on the Americas. Nino Pagliccia has managed collaborative projects with Cuban partners in the University of British Columbia’s Global Health Research Program. He is the editor of "Cuba Solidarity in Canada—Five Decades of People-to-People Foreign Relations" (2014). He has been the vice-president of the Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association in Vancouver and founding co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba. He has led groups doing volunteer work in Cuba for over 12 years.
