Showing posts with label Monroe Doctrine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monroe Doctrine. Show all posts

Friday, December 19, 2025

Why a US War with Venezuela Would Benefit Russia | Dmitry Seleznyov

As cynical and crude as it may sound, a US war with Venezuela would benefit Russia. Venezuela could become America's "Ukraine," diverting US attention and resources away from our own conflict in Ukraine. The United States risks getting bogged down in a war it starts—especially if it launches a ground operation. In that case, Venezuela could turn into a second Vietnam for the US. Either way, South American countries would likely rally in solidarity to support it, uniting the continent in a fight against the "gringos." 
 

It won't be possible to tear the country apart with impunity; there won't be an easy walkover, and the US could face unacceptable losses. On the international stage, Russia and China would provide support—both politically and through hybrid means. On one hand, we'd be whispering sweet nothings to those 
Witkoffs or whoever's in charge in that administration, while on the other, quietly fueling Maduro's fire. Why not? If others can do it, why can't we? Of course, we'd offer help with the constraint that we're still tied down in Ukraine, but we'd do what we can.  
 
» Why not? If others can do it, why can't we? «
 
If things in Venezuela escalate to a hot phase and body bags start flowing back to Trump's "Great America," the MAGA electorate won't like it. Trump was elected to do the opposite. Fighting a war in Venezuela isn't just getting involved for Israel's sake or bombing Iran on the other side of the world—this one's right in America's backyard, with short supply lines. Not to mention that Trump would permanently lose his carefully cultivated image as a "peacemaker," the one he wants to be remembered for in history. A war in Venezuela would brand him forever as the man who tied a bloody ribbon of a second Vietnam around America's neck. Does Trump want that? Doubtful.
 
But Trump is pushing hard—he always plays the bluff game. Recently, Mr. Twitter declared a no-fly zone, and just the other day, he went even further with a full blockade. In effect, that's already a declaration of war. Will Maduro escalate? Sure, a direct conflict could end in different ways, but if Trump has already sentenced the Venezuelan president, what does he have to lose? Escalation often leads to de-escalation. Remember how young Kim Jong-un told Trump to get lost on surrendering nuclear weapons—and nothing happened; he ended up as a "good guy."
 
But for now, our friend Maduro is acting unconvincingly. Chanting "peace, peace, peace" won't stop an inevitable war. "You're only guilty of making me hungry," as the fable goes—red-haired Donnie's intentions are clear. So why wait? Look at the "barefoot" Houthis—they drove off American ships from clustering near their coast. And they're still standing strong

Or what—surrender?

 
Caracas, December 18, 2025: Venezuelan naval forces have begun escorting non-sanctioned oil tankers carrying petroleum derivatives, reportedly destined for China, in direct response to US President Donald Trump's December 16 announcement of a "total and complete blockade" targeting sanctioned vessels entering or leaving Venezuela. The escalation follows the US seizure on December 10 of the tanker Skipper, carrying approximately 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, which Trump indicated the US would retain. 
 

Venezuela has condemned these actions as aggression, requesting an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting to address perceived violations of international law. Domestically, PDVSA workers staged protests across multiple states in defense of national sovereignty, while Vice President Delcy Rodríguez reaffirmed the uninterrupted operation of the hydrocarbons sector. Amid the tensions, President Nicolás Maduro reported that Venezuela achieved 9 percent GDP growth in 2025 despite sanctions, with projections of at least 7 percent for 2026.

Monday, December 8, 2025

Preventing Empire Collapse | Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou

The new 33-page US National Security Strategy, strongly shaped by Elbridge Colby and personally prefaced by President Trump, represents a partial yet still incomplete departure from three decades of neoconservative pursuit of hegemony. Officially released on December 4, it explicitly renounces any further quest for global domination, acknowledges that post-1991 globalism hollowed out American industry while delivering few benefits to ordinary citizens, and ultimately weakened the United States itself. It faults an over-reliance on allies and proxies that Washington could not fully control—pointedly implying Israel and European-driven adventures in Ukraine—for repeatedly pulling America into conflicts that did not serve its core interests.
 
» The unipolar era is over. «
» The unipolar era is over. « 
 
In place of hegemony, the document calls for aggressive domestic reindustrialization, technological supremacy, and a return to traditional spheres-of-influence politics. It resurrects an explicitly imperial interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, insisting that no external great power may have any presence whatsoever in the Western Hemisphere and that the United States must maintain absolute predominance there. At the same time, it insists that America must remain the world’s foremost military and economic power and must permanently prevent any rival from ever attaining the degree of primacy the United States itself enjoyed in recent decades.

» Extraordinarily harsh toward European leadership and the EU. «
»
 
Extraordinarily harsh toward European leadership and the EU. «
 
China continues to be treated as the sole peer competitor capable of achieving parity or even supremacy; opposition to Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland remains a clear priority, revealing no substantive softening despite changed rhetoric. Russia, by contrast, is now a power with which the United States must seek accommodation and continental stability. The document is extraordinarily harsh toward European leadership and the European Union, accusing Brussels of delusional thinking on Russia and Ukraine, economic self-destruction, creeping authoritarianism, and the erosion of European civilization itself. Stabilizing Europe, it argues, requires ending the Ukraine war in partnership with the continent’s other great power—Russia.
 
The new operating model abandons the image of America as a "weary Titan" bearing the world’s burdens alone. Instead, Washington will concentrate on its own hemispheric backyard while outsourcing or franchising security responsibilities elsewhere: Europe is expected to provide for its own defense, Asia will be handled by regional proxies, Africa reduced to transactional resource partnerships, and the Middle East treated as a complicated but no longer central theater. These partners will still answer to the United States and pay their dues, yet day-to-day management becomes their problem.

Historically, this precise pattern—admitting overextension, rejecting free-trade globalism, demanding allied burden-sharing while assuming continued overall control, and invoking the "weary Titan" metaphor—appeared during the terminal phases of both the British Empire under Joseph Chamberlain in the 1890s–1900s and the Spanish Empire under Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares in the 17th century. In both cases the reforms were offered as salvation but in reality signaled irreversible imperial decline.

» Explicitly imperial interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. «
» Explicitly imperial interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. «
 
The strategy is riddled with contradictions. While calling for stabilization with Russia, Pentagon sources simultaneously press Europe to be combat-ready against Moscow by 2027; Europeans counter that 2030 is more realistic, and Viktor Orbán openly states that the official EU position is preparation for war with Russia by that later date. The unspoken American ultimatum to Europe is therefore: achieve full military self-sufficiency on Washington’s timeline or the United States will negotiate directly with Moscow over Europe’s head and end the Ukraine conflict on Russia’s terms. Given Europe’s incapacity to meet that deadline, the second path becomes the default—yet powerful entrenched forces in Washington, Brussels, and the broader transatlantic apparatus remain committed to perpetual confrontation with Russia and containment of Russia.

» Franchising security responsibilities elsewhere. « Joseph-Noel Sylvestre "The Plunder of Rome"
»
 
Franchising security responsibilities elsewhere. «
 
The document is ultimately a fragile compromise between a small restraint-oriented faction and the far larger interventionist bureaucracy. History suggests the bureaucracy will prevail, just as it defeated Chamberlain and Olivares. Moscow and Beijing instantly recognize the contradiction of a United States that urges its vassals to keep fighting while posing as the reasonable party seeking stability; they will not be deceived. Russia, in particular, reads the American declaration that peace in Ukraine and stabilized relations with Moscow are now core US interests as confirmation that time is on its side, that it can stand firm on all demands, and that Washington will eventually concede because it is the United States, not Russia, that now needs the war to end.

Thus, while the 2025 National Security Strategy marks the intellectual arrival of restraint-oriented thinking inside parts of the American national-security establishment and constitutes an official admission that the unipolar era is over, its internal contradictions and the entrenched power of the old order make it unlikely to survive in anything like its present form. Like its British and Spanish predecessors, it may ultimately be remembered less as the blueprint for managed retrenchment than as one of the first formal acknowledgments that American hegemony has irrevocably ended.
 
Reference:

Thursday, March 6, 2025

The Panama Canal & The Best MIGA-MAGA-ShowBizMan Money Can Buy

BlackRock, in collaboration with Goldman Sachs, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the Balboa and Cristobal ports at either end of the Panama Canal from Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings for approximately $19 billion. This acquisition aligns with strategic US efforts to counter China's influence over the canal and the region, as extensively outlined by US President Donald Trump in recent months.
 
On March 4, 2025, Trump praised this as his latest tremendous, beautiful, and incredible deal to the US Congress, referring to it as the US "reclaiming" the Panama Canal. BlackRock's CEO, Larry Fink, a devoted globalist of the Davos cult, has been involved in various Trump initiatives, and his latest acquisition seamlessly intertwines BlackRock's interests with US geopolitical objectives. Nothing could possibly go wrong: everything within BlackRock, nothing outside BlackRock, nothing against BlackRock. Not even two months in office, and already incredible. Perfect deal.

» One way or the other, we’re going to get it. «
The Art of the Deal.
 
Great job, Donnie; Waltz, Witkoff, Rubio, brilliant. Without a single shot and only a little taxpayer money. Exemplary. Checkbook diplomacy, corporatism, and plutocracy at their finest. Very clever. And a deal with the Greenlanders may finally compensate BlackRock for its misinvestment in Biden's Project Ukraine. Let's see how the UKR rare earths, Nord Stream 2, and this Canada thing play out. Now, if only these issues with the Gaza Casino Beach Resort could be resolved, Jared and Ms. Adelson would be really delighted. And you might very well end up with the Nobel Peace Prize, going down in history as Trump, The Peace President. Never mind, whatever is good for the Goldmans, the Musks, and the BlackRocks is sure good enough for your MAGA crowds.
 
 » I reject in the name of Panama and all Panamanians this new affront 
to the truth and our dignity as a nation. Trump is lying again. «
 José Raúl Mulino, President of Panama, on Trump's MIGA-MAGA show to the Congress.
 
However, on March 5, Panama's President José Raúl Mulino accused President Trump of lying in his congressional address when he declared his administration was "reclaiming" the Panama Canal. 
 
 » Truth is reality. The canal is and will always be Panamanian. «
José Raúl Mulino, President of Panama, March 6, 2025.
 
Panama asserts full control over the canal, arguing that the Chinese group's port operations do not equate to Chinese control over the waterway. The government called the sale a private transaction and dismissed any notion of US "reclaiming" the canal. Mulino rejected claims that the deal was due to US pressure, posting a message on X: "I reject in the name of Panama and all Panamanians this affront to the truth and our dignity as a nation," and accused Trump of "lying again". C'mon, Stalin Mulino, life is a business, and I pleased my MIGA-MAGA crowds. Truth is reality.
 
 » Too Pig to Fail. «
 
 

Saturday, February 1, 2025

In 2025 Cuba May Just Collapse Like Syria │ Mikhail Zvinchuk

Since the 1959 revolution, Cuba has relied on foreign aid. Right now, people appreciate help from other countries, but they don’t want to work. They are unwilling to take action. We are talking about a new Cuba—one that is lazy and has no interest in developing itself.

 » It looks like Gaza. «

To illustrate, Cuba now imports almost everything, even sugar. In the last century, Cuba was a major exporter of sugar, but now it depends on imports.
The country is unable to maintain or rebuild its electricity system on its own. In 2021, they began a foolish economic reform that failed. Economic conditions are dire. Russia and other countries provide some aid, but the main problem is Cuba itself. The situation there reminds me of Syria right before the fall of Bashar al-Assad
 
It is clear that communism in Cuba is not working. When you go to a shop, the shelves are empty. You can find things on the black market for dollars, but in regular shops, there is nothing. While Cuba may have a relatively low crime rate and some degree of safety, it is a poor country, struggling with unreliable electricity and lacking opportunities for social mobility. As a result, many Cubans are still fleeing to Florida. In fact, the flow of migrants to the United States has been steadily increasing over the past decade. If the situation continues, Cuba will eventually end up like Puerto Rico.
 
» Nothing but disgust for the offspring of the Guevara and Castro families. «

If you stand on a high building and look across Havana or any of the major cities, you’ll see decaying, dilapidated buildings falling apart. It’s an insane sight. It looks like Gaza. People often blame the US blockade for this, but at some point, leadership has to come into question. How much of this is due to the blockade, and how much is a result of failed leadership? The problem is poor leadership—they lack the education and skills to properly govern the country.

The country is falling deeper into crisis, and no one seems to know how to fix it. I’ve spoken with many Russian diplomats, and Russia provides humanitarian aid, including oil and gas. However, even our diplomats can’t fill their tanks because the Cuban people expect everything to be handed to them without any effort in return. 
 
» The economic situation will likely cause Cuba to collapse on its own. «
 
If the country were to open its borders and allow for a more open market, there might be hope for improvement. Currently, only the hotel and tourism sectors are allowed some access. But if the country lifted restrictions on the private sector and started working with other countries, there could be a chance to improve the situation. Right now, however, it's a failed social state. The country is clearly collapsing. 
 
Yet, the ruling party elite still posts meme tweets about Trump being a fascist and display LGBT flags at their hotels in Havana. The priorities are completely misaligned. You know who is the main LGBT activist in Cuba? It’s Mariela Castro Espín, the daughter of Raúl Castro. When I spoke to average Cubans, they expressed nothing but disgust and disdain for the offspring of the Guevara and Castro families. They had nothing good to say about them.

Latter-day mission: babble on about feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, trans identities, and—of course—revolution. Priorities.
 
Cuba may fall in 2025. If the US wanted to take Cuba—liberate it from the communist regime, as they might call it—they could do it easily, and quickly. The Cuban people are not like their ancestors from the 1950s—they have changed a lot. It would take significant effort to rebuild the nation.
 
Russian Navy about to lose the haven of another friendly power.
 
Cuba was the last American colony, and now it could become a new American colony. However, Trump is currently focusing on Greenland and Panama, and hasn’t given Cuba much attention. The economic situation, though, will likely cause Cuba to collapse on its own, regardless of Trump’s decisions. Once the humanitarian crisis deepens, the US might intervene as a savior.
 
Quoted from:
 
See also:

Friday, January 24, 2025

Mexico's Strategic Position in China's Maritime Silk Road of the Americas

While Trump and Washington focus on renaming the Gulf of Mexicoreclaiming the Panama Canal, "purchasing" Greenland, toppling the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Nicaragua, and militarizing and sabotaging global trade, Beijing subtly reshapes the commercial landscape in the Americas. The new Port of Manzanillo, Mexico's Pacific mega-project, is a crucial element in China’s strategic plan for the Maritime Silk Road of the Americas:
 
Second phase inauguration of the Manzanillo project, November 23, 2024.
 
Mexico is building Latin America's largest port in Manzanillo, a flagship project under President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, continuing Andrés Manuel López Obrador's (2018-2024) legacy to strengthen infrastructure and position Mexico as an economic superpower.
 
Situated in Cuyutlán Bay, Colima, the port’s expansion aims to boost Mexico’s international trade capacity and reflects the left-wing government’s vision to enhance key economic sectors: infrastructure, trade, and energy. By 2030, with a 63-billion-peso ($3.4 billion USD) budget, the port will grow from 450 to 1,880 hectares, handling up to 10 million containers annually, ranking among the world’s 20 largest ports.

 Mexico's new trade hub on the Pacific, bypassing the Panama Canal.

This expansion, part of a strategic initiative to boost Mexico’s global connectivity, includes specialized terminals, advanced dredging systems, state-of-the-art cranes, and enhanced railway and road infrastructure. These upgrades will enable the port to handle five 
mega-ships simultaneously, connect seamlessly with interoceanic logistical corridors and commercial routes in Asia, North America, and Latin America, optimize goods movement, significantly reduce transportation times, and improve access for Mexican products in global markets. 

 By 2030, Puerto Manzanillo will rank among the 20 largest ports in the world.

Puerto Manzanillo will become a pivotal hub for international trade, facilitating direct links with Asia and bypassing the Panama Canal bottleneck. COSCO Shipping’s direct routes further strengthen Manzanillo’s role as a central node in the Asia-Pacific supply chain, positioning it as a strategic partner for Latin American markets.
 
Mexico is on track to become an economic superpower, driven by a growing population, an expanding middle
class, and a robust manufacturing sector, potentially surpassing the US in the second half of the 21st century.
 
This connection strengthens Mexico’s role in the global trade network, promoting exports like automobiles, agricultural goods, and steel, and secures its position as a vital link between Latin America and Asia’s manufacturing powerhouse.
 

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

I'm Gonna MAGA You, Baby ! │ Pepe Escobar

It’s the greatest show on earth – unleashing a double bill of New Paradigm and Manifest Destiny on crack. We are the greatest. We will rock you – in every sense. We will crush you. We will take whatever we want, because we can. And if you wanna walk away from the US dollar, we will destroy you. BRICS, we’re coming to get ya. Trump 2.0 – a mix of professional wrestling and MMA played in a giant planetary cage – is in da house, starting next Monday.

 A larger-than-life PsyOp to change the narrative.

Trump 2.0 aims to be in the driving seat of the global financial system, in control of the world’s oil trade and LNG supply, and on strategic media platforms. Trump 2.0 is gearing up to be an extended exercise in the capacity to hurt The Other. Any Other. Hostile takeovers – and blood on the tracks. That’s how we “negotiate.” Under Trump 2.0, global tech infrastructure must run on US software, not just on the profit front, but also on the spy front. AI data chips must be American only. AI data centers must be controlled by America only. “Free trade” and “globalization”? That’s for losers. Welcome to neo-imperial, techno-feudal mercantilism – powered by US tech supremacy.
 
Trump’s National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, has named a few of the targets ahead: Greenland, Canada, assorted cartels, the Arctic, the Gulf of “America,” oil and gas, and rare earth minerals. All in the name of strengthening “national security.” A key plank: total control of the “Western Hemisphere.” Monroe Doctrine 2.0 – actually the Donroe Doctrine. America First, Last, and Always.

Why the Chessboard Needs to Be Rejigged
Well, let’s delve a bit into pesky material imperatives. The Empire of Chaos faces a humongous debt, owed to the usual suspect loan sharks, that may only be—partially—repaid through selected export surpluses. This would imply re-industrialization—a long, costly affair—and securing smooth military supply chains. Where will the resource base come from for this Sisyphean task? Washington simply cannot rely on Chinese exports and rare earths. The chessboard needs to be rejigged—with trade and tech unified under US unilateral, monopoly control.
 
Plan A, so far, was to simultaneously confront Russia and China: the two top BRICS and key vectors of Eurasia integration. China’s strategy, since the start of the millennium, has been to trade resources for infrastructure, developing Global South markets as China itself keeps developing. Russia’s strategy has been to help nations recover their sovereignty; actually helping nations to help themselves on the sustainable development front. Plan A against the concerted geoeconomic and geopolitical strategies of the Russia-China strategic partnership miserably failed. What has been attempted by the ghastly, exiting US administration has generated serial, massive blowbacks.
 
Next best option: Plunder the Chihuahuas.

So, it’s time for Plan B: Looting the allies. They are already dominated Chihuahuas anyway. The exploitation show must go on. And there are plenty of Chihuahuas available to be exploited. Canada has loads of fresh water, plus oil and mining wealth. The Canadian business class, in fact, has always dreamed of deep integration with the Empire of Chaos. Trump 2.0 and his team have been careful not to name names.
 
When it comes to the Arctic as a crucial, evolving battlefield, there may be a vague allusion to the Northwest Passage, but never a mention of what really matters: the Northern Sea Routethe Russian denomination; the Chinese call it the Arctic Silk Road. That’s one of the key connectivity corridors of the future. The Northern Sea Route encompasses at least 15% of the world’s unexplored oil and 30% of the world’s unexplored natural gas. Greenland is smack in the middle of this New Great Game—capable of supplying years of uranium, as much oil as Alaska (bought from Russia in 1867), plus rare earths—not to mention providing useful real estate for missile defense and offense. Washington has been trying to grab Greenland from Denmark since 1946. There’s a deal with Copenhagen in place guaranteeing military control—mostly naval. Now Greenland is being revamped as the ideal US entry point into the Arctic Great Game against Russia.

At the St. Petersburg forum last June, I had the privilege of following an exceptional roundtable on the Northern Sea Route: that’s an integral part of Russia’s 21st-century development project, focused on commercial navigation—“We need more icebreakers!”—and bound to surpass Suez and Gibraltar in the near future. Slightly over 50,000 Greenland residents—which already enjoy autonomy, especially vis-à-vis the EU—would more than accept a full Danish exit; Copenhagen actually abandoned them in 1951. Greenlanders will love to profit from vast US investments. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov went straight to the point: “The first step is to listen to the Greenlanders”—comparing it to how Russia listened to the residents of Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya vis-à-vis Kiev.


What Trump 2.0 actually wants from Greenland is crystal clear: total militarization; privileged access to rare earths; and the commercial exclusion of Russia and Chinese companies. Chinese military expert Yu Chun noted that “soon, the long-desired ‘golden waterway’ of the Arctic Ocean is expected to open, allowing ships to traverse the Pacific Ocean and sail along the northern coasts of North America and Eurasia into the Atlantic Ocean.” As the Northern Sea Route is “a key element of Sino-Russian cooperation,” it’s inevitable that the US’s “strategic vision is to prevent the establishment of a ‘golden waterway’ between China, Russia, and Europe by controlling Greenland.”

Freak Out on the Chihuahua Front
On the wider Chihuahua front, activity is frantic. Assorted Davos/Deep State-linked elites across NATOstan—from Europe to Canada—are in the process of being replaced by new, Trump 2.0-affiliated elites. That’s indissociably linked to the Looting the Allies strategy: the further destruction of the vassal EU economy to strengthen the heart of the Empire. In Germany, the AfD’s Alice Weidel—pragmatic, intellectually capable—offers a quite intriguing perspective. She is stressing, on the record, that Germany needs to restart importing raw materials and cheap natural gas—let’s reopen Nord Stream—from Russia.

That opens the tantalizing possibility that Trump and his factotum Elon Musk fully realize that Germany is worthless to the US as a de-industrialized backwater—even under the overall framework of a hardcore neoliberal asset-stripping offensive. Of course, Trump 2.0 will extract a hefty price for Germans to get a revitalized nation back.

Trump 2.0 at least holds the
dubiousmerit of a relatively realistic reading of the chessboard; Russia, India, China—the Primakov triangle—as well as Iran have become too powerful to be looted. So, the next best option is: Plunder the Chihuahuas. The blowing up of Nord Stream, as ordered by the Biden crime family—as detailed by Sy Hersh—was a gleaming starter.

The future of NATO in the Great America project is now up for grabs. Gotta pay up—or else: the contribution of each member nation should go up to 5% of GDP instead of the current 2%. Talk about a 150% price hike. Incidentally, Trump so far has not even muttered the nonsensical expression “Indo-Pacific.” For all practical purposes, Trump is telling NATO to take a hike. In the event of a double NATOstan annexation of Canada and Greenland, the US may even be able to match Russia’s resource base. Arguably, that’s the key rationale for unleashing this New Great Game. Forget “multipolarity.” BRICS, take note.

 
I’m gonna MAGA you, baby! 

The most intriguing side plot is, of course, Elon Musk. Trump badly needs Musk’s massive social media/propaganda digital megaphone. Simultaneously, on the Chihuahua front, the platinum sidekick wants to profit from a Europe capable of assessing enough energy, raw materials, and loads of consumers with solid purchasing power. The facts on the ground already spell out the “rules-based international order” being replaced in a flash by a no-rules international disorder. After all, international law has already been abolished by the Empire of Chaos itself (that’s bipartisan)—when it comes to illegal, unilateral sanctions, theft of financial assets, or legitimization of genocide and head-chopping “moderate rebels.”

Trump 2.0 will be nothing but enforcing a de facto phenomenon: a post-historical disorder. End of History—that was always for suckers. All of this incendiary chain of events is on a roll essentially because of one single reason: the Empire of Chaos lost the proxy war in Ukraine. What remains to be discussed is the modality of the surrender. So, it’s no wonder Trump had to come up with a seductive, but still fraught-with-danger, larger-than-life PsyOp to imperatively change the narrative.