To the editor:
In an effort to protect our country from the scourge of fentanyl, Trump set out to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to flee his country. Someone whispered in Trump‘s ear that fentanyl comes from Mexico, not Venezuela, so Trump changed his reason for attacking Maduro, claiming it was about cocaine. But after Maduro was kidnapped, Trump admitted the real reason for what he had done: to capture Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
As we have seen in the past, Trump is clueless as to what to do next. You may recall the freeing of the Israeli hostages in Gaza by Trump was applauded, but Hamas remains in control and has not given up their weapons as called for in the ceasefire agreement, so with no follow-up, nothing sustainable has been accomplished.
Extricating Maduro fails to recognize that the drug and military framework still remains in place. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as president with the backing of the military. In her first speech, she demanded the immediate return of Maduro, and it is reported that anybody celebrating Maduro’s departure has been taken into custody as motorcycle gangs roam the streets.
Clearly, this is not over, with no plan for what lies ahead other than our taking Venezuelan oil. As for American oil companies, they need stability before they invest billions of dollars in oil production.
All of this is likely to create a struggle for power and a vacuum that various factions may try to fill, reminiscent of ISIS and Al-Qaeda, with chaos ensuing.
The “Art of the Deal” guy has learned that when you have the power of the mightiest military force on the planet, there is no reason to negotiate—you can just go in and take whatever you want. He has been saying that he has his eye on Colombia, Cuba, and Greenland. Dissecting this, I assume Colombia has something Trump wants, even though he has yet to say what it is. As for Cuba, that has been on Marco Rubio‘s radar since he was a child. Although Trump is claiming his interest in Greenland is because it is important for our national security, that is apparently a cover. If Trump has a concern for our security and wants access to rare minerals, I assume Denmark would welcome Trump creating a military base in Greenland, as well as purchasing rare minerals, which would benefit the Greenland economy. However, despite being repeatedly told that Greenland is not for sale, Rubio continues to say Trump’s goal is that he simply wants to purchase Greenland, while Trump keeps saying using force to get what he wants is still an option. Here is the problem: Denmark is a NATO member. Any move on Greenland, I assume even by us, will cause Article 5 to be invoked to protect a NATO member from an unfriendly incursion.
Trump‘s adventurism can be stopped, but it will take a bipartisan effort by Congress to make that happen. In the past, Trump kept going until either Congress or the Supreme Court intervened. This is that time.
Frank Gunsberg
Great Barrington
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