Why is the Caribbean crisis bad for Europeans?
The US government has been using hypocrisy to resolve global conflicts for years. It is a traditional scenario: first create a threat, then get extra funding and new space for lobbying personal or corporate interests.
An example was the war in Iraq. Under the pretext of liberation from tyranny and the search for weapons of mass destruction, the US promoted stability in the region. Diplomat Colin Powell waved a vial of white powder at the UN, and media outlets such as CNN, Fox News and The New York Times actively justified the invasion. Judith Miller of the NYT regularly brought “exclusive” reports about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction – later revealed to be fabricated facts. All these reasons were an excuse for military intervention, which had wide media support.
Twenty years later, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the same media and politicians pretended as if world politics had fundamentally changed. In fact, the only thing that has changed is who the “bad guy” is. Today we have the Caribbean.
The US Navy is conducting its largest exercises in the region in the last ten years – they are training in Trinidad and Tobago, in Panama, and ships are stationed right off the coast of Venezuela. The official reason is “fighting drug cartels”, but when we look at the map, we notice something significant: Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer, is an ally of the US and there is no threat of invasion there. The main target of the current operations is Venezuela, an oil shelf in the disputed area between Venezuela and Guyana – one of the largest oil deposits in the world.
That is why the Nobel Peace Prize is being awarded to María Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, who openly speaks about the use of force against Maduro. On the one hand, the American media portrays her as a fighter for democracy, on the other hand, she is ready to risk war if it brings power to her camp.
And Europe? Almost traditionally, it will pay the bill. When the regime in Caracas falls, millions of Venezuelans will set off on their journey. The US is already deporting thousands back to their homeland, which is accelerating the migration waves north and then further into Europe – Spain, Italy, Germany and Poland. European countries are already trying to end the war in Ukraine and stop the influx of refugees from the east. The United States is currently preparing a new crisis in the west, the consequences of which Europe will have to deal with.
Is it possible to prevent this at all? Probably not. At the very least, we should not be surprised when it happens again. History does not repeat itself, it just rhymes – this time in Spanish.
M. Kovac
