Venezuela: Going Rogue

VENEZUELA

Going Rogue

Iranian oil tankers recently docked in Venezuela in defiance of American sanctions on both countries to prevent the transfer of fuel.

The situation is ironic, say analysts. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, but mismanagement of the economy has resulted in fuel shortages that have compelled the Latin American nation to reach out to Iran for help.

American leaders said they were monitoring the situation closely, but Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro didn’t appear to care that he was ratcheting up tensions.

“Two revolutionary peoples who will never kneel down before North American imperialism,” Maduro said in televised state address covered by the BBC. “Venezuela and Iran both want peace. We have the right to trade freely.”

The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim wrote that the shipments were a “smack in the face for the administration of Donald Trump,” reported Israel Hayom.

One might argue that Maduro is foolish to risk a confrontation with the US. But he and his people are desperate. Spiraling inflation, food shortages and an exodus of Venezuelans to neighboring countries have spurred street protests and police crackdowns for years.

Now, amid a worldwide pandemic, the country’s beleaguered healthcare system won’t be able to prevent a catastrophe as the coronavirus spreads, said Human Rights Watch.

Maduro is also fighting for his political survival, Agence France-Presse explained. Recently, his attorney general asked the Venezuelan Supreme Court to declare opposition leader Juan Guaido’s party a “terrorist organization” after a failed sea invasion by mercenaries, including two retired American soldiers.

The US and around 50 other countries recognize Guaido as the country’s interim president, citing Venezuelan laws that call into question whether Maduro truly won a 2018 election. In addition to Iran, China and Russia support Maduro.

The Iranians might be seeking revenge for the humiliating death of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian military commander killed in a US drone strike in Iraq early this year, wrote Foreign Policy. If the US wants to undermine Iranian influence on its neighbors, Iran can do the same to American influence in its backyard, the theory goes.

Such moves might put pressure on the US to take rash action that might play into the hands of critics of America or compel the White House to consider détente as a more useful reaction, Business Insider added.

The old grudges are returning the situation back to normal. But it’s a new normal.