By Mohammad Ali Haqshenas
US President Donald Trump has exposed a worldview rooted in colonial entitlement by claiming Venezuela’s oil and other resources as America’s own, says a Venezuelan academic and political commentator.
Speaking to the Press TV website, Guillermo R. Barreto, a professor at the Simon Bolivar University, said Trump's claim on the South American country's rich oil resources reveals his "supremacist, colonialist, and imperialist" agenda.
“Trump explicitly stated his claim to the oil, lands, and resources that according to him belong to the US; this is undoubtedly a reckless declaration that reveals his supremacist, colonialist, and imperialist vision, devoid of any knowledge of history or international law,” he stated.
The academic and analyst said he believes Washington’s bellicose approach in the Caribbean reflects a deeper strategic anxiety.
It is a fact that US hegemony is under threat,” Barreto said, pointing to lost ground in technology, finance, and global markets.
“The US has lost markets in Asia and Africa, and therefore, its security doctrine prioritizes the domination of Latin America (and all their resources), employing the two remaining weapons at its disposal: military power and the entertainment industry,” he added.
At the center of that strategy, he noted, is not just Venezuela itself but its important Global South allies, particularly China.
“The US doesn't just need control of these resources for its own development. It needs to prevent China (and Russia or Iran) from accessing them because, ultimately, the US's biggest war is against China,” Barreto said. “Controlling Venezuela means blocking China's access to the world's largest oil reserves.”
The geopolitical calculations also explain, in his view, Washington’s hostility toward the Bolivarian Revolution, now in its third decade....... more below
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
