Prof. Jeffrey Sachs LOST PATIENCE as Trump Pushing Towards Venezuela for Oil and War

Key Concepts

• US Intervention in Venezuela: A history of US involvement in Venezuelan politics, including an attempted coup in 2002 and ongoing destabilization efforts.
• US Sanctions Approach: The use of financial and economic measures to pressure and destabilize targeted governments.
• Executive Order 13692: Issued by President Obama in March 2015, declaring Venezuela an "unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
• International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA): US legislation that allows the president to impose financial sanctions during a declared national emergency.
• "National Emergency" Justification: The argument that actions taken against Venezuela are justified by a declared national emergency for the United States, rather than for Venezuela itself.
• Destabilization Tactics: Methods employed by the US to weaken Venezuela's economy, including crushing its economy, destroying its healthcare system, causing high inflation, and creating refugees.
• Recognition of Opposition Leaders: The US practice of declaring individuals other than the incumbent president as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and granting them control of financial assets.
• Preventative Self-Defense and International Law: The legal implications of using military force against non-imminent threats, which is considered illegal under international law.
• Allegations of Narco-Trafficking and Hezbollah: The justifications used by some US officials for intervention, including Venezuela's alleged partnerships with drug cartels and Hezbollah.
• Resource Exploitation: The argument that the primary motivation for US intervention is to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
• "Gangsterism" and US Foreign Policy: A critique of US foreign policy as aggressive, illegal, and driven by self-interest, characterized by threats and military mobilization.

US Intervention and Destabilization of Venezuela

The video transcript details a long-standing pattern of US involvement in Venezuela, extending beyond the Trump administration. It highlights an attempted coup in 2002, where the US was involved behind the scenes, communicating with Venezuelan military personnel attempting the overthrow. This event is presented as an early instance of US interference.

The US Sanctions Approach and Executive Order 13692

The transcript argues that throughout the 2010s, the United States intentionally destabilized and impoverished Venezuela with the goal of overthrowing its government through financial instability, instigating coups, or fostering popular unrest. President Obama is cited as a key figure in this approach, initiating sanctions against Venezuela on March 8, 2015, through Executive Order 13692.

The transcript quotes the executive order, which states: "I, Barack Obama, President of the United States, find that the situation in Venezuela, including the government of Venezuela's erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, use of violence and human rights violations, and abuses in response to anti-government protests and arbitrary arrests and detention of anti-government protesters, as well as the exacerbating presence of significant public corruption, constitutes an unusual and extreme extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. And I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat."

The speaker expresses incredulity at this declaration, questioning how Venezuela's internal human rights situation, whether true or untrue, could constitute a US national emergency. This is framed as a tactic under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), allowing the president to impose financial pressure, seize assets, block individuals, and prevent transactions to destabilize the country. The core argument is that the US declares a national emergency for itself, not for Venezuela, to justify its actions.

Escalation Under Trump and Biden

The transcript asserts that this "game" of declaring national emergencies to justify intervention was played by President Obama, continued by President Trump throughout his first term, and also by President Biden. The current situation is described as Trump escalating these efforts further.

The US Declaring Who is President

A particularly "weird" instance is highlighted from January 2019, when President Trump declared that the incumbent president of Venezuela was not the legitimate leader and named another individual as president. The transcript points out that the US then stated this designated individual controlled Venezuela's financial assets. This is presented as the US dictating who should be president in another sovereign nation simply because Washington dislikes the current government.

Legal Justifications and Their Validity

The transcript questions the legality of these emergency declarations, referencing a federal statute that defines an emergency as a "sudden and unexpected event which adversely affects the national security or economic stability of the United States." The speaker finds it "inconceivable" that these declarations by Obama and Trump comply with this definition.

Senator Lindsey Graham's Statements and Counterarguments

The transcript then shifts to a discussion involving Senator Lindsey Graham on "Face the Nation." Graham's statements are described as "reckless and irritating." He is quoted as saying that preventative self-defense against non-imminent threats is illegal under international law, implying that actions against individuals on boats or taking out leaders could be war crimes if there is no imminent threat.

Graham dismisses these concerns, referencing President George H.W. Bush's action against Manuel Noriega of Panama for drug trafficking. He then claims Venezuela is partnering with Hezbollah and drug cartels, and that the current commander-in-chief (Trump) will not tolerate this. Graham states the US will "blow them up and kill the people that want to poison America" and expand operations to land. He explicitly states that President Trump sees Venezuela and Colombia as direct threats because they house "narco-terrorist organizations" and that the leader of Venezuela is an "indicted drug dealer in American courts." Graham concludes by saying the US will use military force to protect the country and advises the Venezuelan leader to leave before he is overthrown.

The True Reason: Resource Exploitation

The speaker vehemently disagrees with Graham's justifications, stating the "true reason" for US destabilization efforts over the past 20 years is Venezuela's possession of the world's largest oil reserves. The speaker calls the idea that it's about narcotics trafficking an "insult to our intelligence" and describes Graham as a "smirking gangster" working for the "organized crime mob called the US government."

The speaker argues that the US can "murder whoever we want and we can give any explanation that we want," using narcotics trafficking as a mere "excuse of the day." The transcript reiterates that the US has been trying to bring down the Venezuelan government for over 20 years and will resort to "inland incursions," which are essentially invasions, with a dismissive and threatening attitude.

Conclusion: Gangsterism and War

The transcript concludes by characterizing US foreign policy as "gangsterism" that leads to "war after war after war." It criticizes the "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) slogan in this context and calls for someone in Congress, the courts, or the media to speak out against the "unbelievably vulgar and illegal mobilization of the American military" in the ongoing attempt to seize Venezuela's assets.