President Donald Trump seems to be set on making Latin and South America a playground for American power. The reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine, the original claim for sole US influence in the area, in the new National Security Strategy seems to being made good by piracy on the high seas as the US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker in international waters.
Trump massively accelerated his attempt at regime change in Venezuela when US forces took control of an oil tanker owned by Venezuela yesterday.
US forces boarded the vessel from a helicopter and detained the crew.
But the seizure of the tanker is just the latest in a series of military provocations by the US. The day before, Tuesday this week, two US F-18 fighter jets entered Venezuelan airspace circling for about 40 minutes.
The jets flew within 100 miles of Venezuela’s second-largest city which is home to one of the country’s main military air bases.
Data from Sweden’s FlightRadar24 also showed the jets flying over Zulia state, a key oil and gas producing region, and Falcon state, home to some of the country’s biggest refineries.
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil warned that the US actions pose an extremely serious challenge to regional security and peace.
The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly said that the US military activities around the country were not intended to ‘combat drug trafficking’, as the US claims, but to attack and destroy Venezuela.
Iran warned that the recent situation poses a threat to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The military build up against Venezuela is even greater than this, as could plainly be seen on Reuters news agency film of the base. The film shows an array of military aircraft at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, part of the continued US military buildup.
The deployment is part of ongoing US military operations in the Caribbean, following months of pressure on Venezuela, including strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats, threats of military action, and the designation of a drug cartel as a foreign terrorist group.