US forces abseil onto a Venezuelan oil tanker, December 10, 2025
EA-RTE Podcast: A Trump War on Venezuela?
I joined RTE and the BBC on Thursday to analyze the Trump Administration’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker.
The White House said the US military intercepted the tanker because it was a “sanctioned shadow vessel known for carrying black-market sanctioned oil” to Iran.
I evaluate other motives, from the tough-guy poses of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth to the Administration’s attempt for an uprising against the Maduro Government.
I consider the consequences of the pursuit of “regime change”, noting that the US has not had a stellar record — think Cuba in the 1960s — and that the Administration may have few options if Venezuelans do not support American aggression.
Listen to RTE Radio 1
I joined News at One to answer, “Why make this move now?”
The George W. Bush Administration tried to stir up an uprising against the Chavez Government. They failed.
The first Trump Administration tried to stir up an uprising against the Maduro Government. They failed.
There is no evidence here that just by trying to break a country politically and economically, people will respond by saying, “We’ll get rid of Maduro.”
In fact, they may do the opposite and say, “We’re standing up against US aggression, even if we don’t like the person leading us.”
Listen to BBC Radio Scotland from 12:49
I set the seizure in the context of the Admininstration’s deployment of 11 warships — including an aircraft carrier — and 15,000 troops; its false pretext of a campaign against “narco-terrorism”; and the recent history of US attempts to topple the Venezuelan Government.
The Maduro Government is repressive. It is authoritarian. But this is another example of the US saying, “This is our hemisphere and we are going to dictate how it’s run.”
