No other country in the world is being subjected to the type of regime change strategy that the United States government is applying to Venezuela. Only in the case of Venezuela has Washington done so much to promote international support in favour of a parallel government.
Meanwhile, the establishment media fails to take up in any way the arguments that expose the fallaciousness and inhumanity of the sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
At a media conference on April 2, a reporter told US President Donald Trump he had a moral responsibility to help Iran as it is hit by the new coronavirus. No mention was made about Venezuela.
Why Iran and not Venezuela? Five factors stand out.
First, the conflict with Iran is a partisan issue. The 2015 nuclear arms agreement with Iran was engineered under President Barack Obama, the same president that imposed sanctions on Venezuela on the basis that it represented an “extraordinary and unusual threat” to US national security.
It is therefore not surprising the Democratic Party leadership is critical, though only mildly so, of US policy toward Iran, while supporting Trump’s regime change efforts in Venezuela.
Secondly, the Iranian government has a military capacity in the Middle East that threatens the US’s presence in the region. Iran’s militia allies, such as Hezbollah, serve as a dissuasive force. This is a reality the Pentagon and Washington policy makers are very aware of.
In contrast, Venezuela represents no military threat at all to the US. Trump’s claim that Venezuela is allied with dissident Colombian guerrillas intent on creating disruptions is a bogus charge. Venezuela has no equivalent to Hezbollah operating in the region.
Read the article by Steve Ellner in Green Left Weekly.