Venezuela as a Battlefield for US Hegemony

The recent escalation against Venezuela is essentially the implementation of a strategy that views Latin America as nothing more than a theater for Great Power Competition against China and Russia, as well as a collection of resources needed for that very “competition”.

We find the blueprint in the 2023 report "Great Power Competition and Conflict in Latin America," produced by RAND Project AIR FORCE for the US Air Force and Space Force.

The report reveals the logic of the securitocracy as political outcomes are subordinated to military necessity. The explicit goal is to secure the Western Hemisphere against the rise of multipolarity (most explicitly represented by Russia and China).

The report recommends:

Sustaining Proxies: Recognizing that the U.S. "is the most likely competitor to become engaged and sustain support for proxies."

Denial of Assets: Preparing to "deter or deny" the use of Chinese dual-use assets in the region.

Military over Diplomacy: Preparing for "increased demand for U.S. Air Force assets in the theater."

Perhaps this admission in the document about how it views the internal politics of Venezuela is the most cynical. The planners do not view "democracy" as an end in itself, whatever meaning the concept “democracy” could ever have for these people, but as a pawn in a larger game:

"For the United States, a Venezuela in crisis and susceptible to Chinese and Russian overtures poses military and intelligence concerns... At a higher level, the clash over Venezuela is a clash over which great power will maintain influence, with the struggle over the country’s path toward democratization being a limited objective that contributes to the higher-end competition over influence."

This confirms what critical analysts have argued for years: The orientation framework of the Western ruling strata has shifted to a war footing, a barbarous one at that, that knows no rules or laws. In this context, any Latin American country seeking sovereign policies is viewed through the lens of threat perception.

As the situation develops, we must hold on to our dignity and clarity. In the words of Mexican philosopher Fernando Buen Abad:

"Today, we are all anti-imperialists. May our cry for peace shake the deepest roots of anti-colonial dignity in our peoples. Enough of imperial plundering and slavery. WE ARE NO ONE'S COLONY."