By Dr Arun Mitra
US aggression on Venezuela, kidnapping its elected President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on the cooked up charges of narcoterrorism reminds one of the familiar story of Lion and the Lamb. Similar excuse was given when the US attacked Iraq in 2003 that it possessed weapons of mass destruction. This was done despite the report to the contrary by Hans Blix, chairman of the UN inspection commission UNMOVIC, tasked with investigating Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. Similar actions were undertaken by the US administration on Libya and Afghanistan. All this was to plunder the resources of these countries as well as prove the US supremacy in the international geopolitics.
No wonder Venezuela has 18% of total world’s oil reserves and the US wants to have complete control on them. It was a deal struck by Henry Kissinger with Saudi Arabia in 1974 according to which all oil will be sold in US$ and in exchange the US will provide security to Saudi Arabia. Since then the Dollar became supreme. US can print any number of Dollars while other countries have to work for it. Therefore any country which attempts to trade outside dollars has to face punitive action by the US. So was the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi and now Maduro. That Venezuela has been doing oil trade with China in Yuan irked the US government. When the BRICS talked about a new currency, the Trump administration was disturbed at the possibility of the US Dollar being replaced by the BRICS currency. However, what has happened in Caracas sends dangerous signals to the world that they can do any type of bullying in any country in the world.
Several countries, including Russia, China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa and Cuba, have condemned the US military action, calling it a violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called upon USA to immediately release Maduro. He further added “The world today is undergoing changes and turbulence not seen in a century, with unilateral acts of hegemony severely undermining the international order”.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test flights of hypersonic missiles, underscoring the need to bolster the country’s nuclear deterrent amid “the recent geopolitical crisis” and “complicated international events,” according to state media.
Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay issued a joint statement rejecting ‘the unilateral military operations in Venezuela’ and warned against exploiting its natural resources. The signatories say the operation to oust Maduro was conducted in violation of international law.
European leaders urged restraint. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc is closely monitoring the situation and stressed respect for international law and the UN Charter. However, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter.
Delcy Rodríguez, now the President of Venezuela has strongly criticised the Trump led US administration, describing the operation as a serious act of military aggression. The country has declared a national emergency and demanded immediate release of President Maduro. Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced the deployment of military forces nationwide, and Venezuela has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Trump has minced no words in saying that now the US will control Venezuela, meaning thereby that a powerful country can do anything unchecked to other countries. The situation around the world has become very tense in the already volatile conditions due to war in Ukraine and Middle East.
It is dismaying that the Indian government which at one time took firm stand on issues of breach of sovereignty of other countries has expressed only deep concern and issued advisory to the Indian citizens in Venezuela.
In the same backdrop Indian government did not oppose Israeli aggression on Palestine. It showed no empathy to the families of over 60000 deceased as a result of Israeli genocide. Instead the Modi government is further developing arms purchase relations with Israel. India is set to export Brahmos missile to Vietnam and Indonesia worth US$ 450m million (approximately Rs. 4000 crore).
Such acts have brought down the credibility of the country once known for organising Non Aligned Movement which was essentially an anti-imperialist movement. India was the leader of the Global South who looked at India not only for economic cooperation but also for solution to various global issues like nuclear arms race and defence of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India’s position in the geopolitics has come down after the operation Sindoor. Various teams sent to different countries to explain India’s position yielded no tangible response. It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not rebutted US President’s repeated assertion over 60 times that he was instrumental in bringing the Indo-Pak war to end. To reinforce the Trump administration recently conferred Distinguished Action Award to Ranjit ‘Ricky’ Singh Gill, the senior director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council (NSC) for his role in ceasefire talks between India and Pakistan(1). Now China too has come with similar statement but the Prime Minister has not uttered a word on this either. The Trump administration has imposed high tariffs on India but the present Indian regime is going around the corridors of Pentagon begging for relief. Recent statement by Trump after Venezuela aggression that Modi is a good guy who is trying to please him but we would increase the tariff on India is an insult to the country.
Going by the history we know that the RSS sided with the colonial British government when whole country was fighting for freedom of the country. The same legacy continues! The present rabidly communal and pro-corporate regime is busy talking of Akhand Bharat (Greater India). According to the RSS, Akhand Bharat is a concept of an undivided country with parts of present day Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Aksai Chin, Tibet and Bhutan in it. How can one expect friendly relations with neighbours in this situation.
As a big country with immense diversity we have to learn to respect all ethnic cultural, religious, linguistic groups as the soul of India. The present day narrative of hatred has to end to prove to the world our policy of inclusiveness of all. It is only with a positive global image we can play decisive role in the geopolitics.
India has been leader of NAM which had over 100 countries, mostly the developing countries as its members. They looked towards India for lasting peace and economic development.
Our present approach to become subservient to the US policies will not help us. We must understand that in case of US control on oil of Venezuela, India will also be affected as we buy quite a bit of oil from them.
The US action has pushed the world into grave uncertainty and increased security risk to the smaller countries of the world. Trump has already started talking aggressively about taking over Green Land. (IPA Service)
Trump’s Onslaught On Venezuela Is Aimed At Looting Natural Resources Including Oil 