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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
WHAT WOULD DONALD Trump have to do for the U.S. media to frame what he is doing in Venezuela as an act of war?
This isn’t a rhetorical question. It’s an actual inquiry, the pursuit of which can reveal a lot about how U.S. media’s default posture is state subservience and stenography. In the past few months, President Trump has committed several clear acts of war against Venezuela, including: murdering — in cold blood — scores of its citizens, hijacking its ships, stealing its resources, issuing a naval blockade, and attacking its ports. Then in a stunning escalation on early Saturday morning, the administration invaded Venezuela’s sovereign territory, bombing several buildings, killing at least 40 more of its citizens, kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their bed, and announcing they will, henceforth, “run” the country.
This episode seems to indicate that the president can do almost anything in the context of foreign policy, and the media will still overwhelmingly adopt language that is flattering and sanitizing to the administration when describing what has unfolded. This dynamic reached a new low Saturday morning, when the U.S. media rushed to frame the administration’s unprovoked attack as, at worst, a “ratcheted up” (CBS News) “pressure campaign” (Wall Street Journal) and, as was more often the case, some type of limited narcotics police “operation” (CNN).
Does Venezuela see this as an act of war? Regardless of if they’re going to fight or not. Ask people.
The Venezuelan government might. But according to some DW reporting and footage earlier today, the actual reaction of ordinary Venezuelans is mixed, and mostly concern and confusion rather than anger or fear. Maduro is generally not popular in Venezuela but I doubt many people really wanted the US to come and kidnap him. And understandably those who supported him are in the streets calling for his release.
The Venezuelan government could likely consider this to be an act of war based on international law. The question right now is if it wants to.
Technically, Trump performed this attack without declaring war and his war powers without a Congressional declaration. Per American law, the USA isn’t at war with Venezuela. If Venezuela declares that this is an act of war, it gives Trump a better pretense to get war declared on Venezuela. It also vastly changes how neutral powers can treat both countries during the war.
Countries have fought wars without declaring wars before. The military action surrounding the invasion of the Falklands was done without either nation officially declaring war.
Why would anyone trust pro-genocide Zionist media on their reporting about Venezuela and the opinions of Venezuelans? Might as well ask Netanyahu himself.
Of course Maduro government doesn’t like the situation, but people’s opinion is important.
Yes, the method is still not right, but for now from my Eastern-European point of view the situation become better than it was.
Let’s wait for how the power transition will end.
Situation is so much better now that 100 people have been murdered in the name of oil!
Venezuela was supporting Russia, now that will stop most probably. And Russia kills hundreds every day in Ukraine.
The US + EU kill half a million yearly through economic sanctions alone, much more than the mortality from the Ukraine war. Should we also destroy those countries?
Oh, and of course EU sanctions Russia just for the sake of evil? As soon as Russia retreats from Ukraine, shoves its army to Putin’s ass and compensates the damage, sanctions will be lifted. Russia is the cause of all this shit. And destroying Russia is a good way as long as Russia is unwilling to stop aggression.
The EU sanctions Russia because we’re US puppet states, but the sanctions are more harmful to other countries like Cuba, Venezuela or the DPRK, none of which has invaded any other country. The half a million deaths per year mostly come from such countries and not Russia (though I fail to see how it’s morally good to prevent medical goods from entering Russia or anywhere in the world).
The EU sanctions Russia to defend itself from Russian aggression.