Stephen Lendman
Endless US hot wars rage in multiple theaters. Covert destabilizing ones target numerous other countries.
Toppling Venezuela’s government has been a US objective since Chavez took office in February 1999 - so far not achieved but ongoing without letup.
Occasional US soft diplomatic talk is pure deception - including John Kerry saying Washington “seek(s) ways to improve a historically strong relationship” on the occasion of Venezuela’s July 5 independence day commemoration.
Most often his rhetoric reflects longstanding US meddling in the internal affairs of other countries - flagrantly illegal under core international law ignored by Washington, operating solely by its own rules and standards.
James Petras explains US Latin American policy saying “(f)aced with the mess and difficulty of dislodging incumbent regimes via elections, (it) opted for the choreography of street violence, sabotage, martial law and coups (together with ‘local proxies’) - to be followed by sanitized elections - with US-vetted candidates.”
Venezuela is a prime US target for regime change. It has the world’s largest oil reserves (greater than Saudi