Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)

In January, before his confirmation as secretary of state, Tillerson said he’d work with US Latin American allies to replace what he called the “incompetent and dysfunctional” (democratically elected) Maduro government.

“I would urge close cooperation with our friends in the hemisphere, particularly Venezuela’s neighbors Brazil and Colombia, as well as multilateral bodies such as the OAS, to seek a negotiated transition to (un)democratic rule in Venezuela,” he blustered.

He’s been hostile toward the country for years, earlier losing a World Bank arbitration battle over its nationalization of ExxonMobil assets when he was CEO, the company at the time offered fair compensation.

He called for working with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, “invoking the Inter-American Democratic Charter to promote the normalization of the situation in Venezuela and restore (pre-Bolivarian) (un)democratic institutions.”

He supports release of insurrectionists, imprisoned for plotting the forceful topping of the government, replacing democratic rule with fascist tyranny.

In a Tuesday press conference, discussed in a same day article, he again called for regime change, saying:

“Our approach to Venezuela has been to try to work through coalition partners, through the OAS as well as others who share our view of Venezuela’s future.”

“Clearly what we want to see is for Venezuela to return to its constitution, return to its scheduled elections, and allow the people of Venezuela to have the voice in their government they deserve.”

“We are evaluating all of our policy options as to what can we do to create a change of conditions where either Maduro decides he doesn’t have a future and wants to leave of his own accord or we can return the government processes back to their constitution.”

Fact: Venezuela is the hemisphere’s model social democracy - polar opposite how America and other Western societies are run, exploiting people, not serving them, waging wars on other nations, threatening world peace.

Fact: Washington wants control over Venezuela’s oil reserves, the world’s largest, a prize it’s coveted since Hugo Chavez instituted Bolivarian fairness, sharing the nation’s oil wealth with its citizens.

Fact: Article 19 of the OAS Charter prohibits “interven(tion), directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State.” So does fundamental international law.

Article 20 forbids any member state from “us(ing) or encourag(ing) the use of coercive measures of an economic or political character in order to force the sovereign will of another State and obtain from it advantages of any kind.”

Responding to illegal sanctions imposed on him by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Maduro said he was targeted for “call(ing) democratic elections so that people can freely vote for the National Constituent Assembly.”

“I feel proud to be sanctioned, Mister Imperialist Donald Trump,” he added.

Washington has been waging political and economic war on Venezuela since Chavez was democratically elected in December 1998 - including multiple failed coup attempts, denigrating its government and leadership, making its economy scream, and periodic street violence, notably since April.

Washington’s assault on Venezuela is its latest color revolution attempt. If it fails, will sending in the Marines be next?

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."