Caroline Perez-Fraga
On Saturday, Jan. 3, American special operations forces bombed Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and abducted their president, Nicholas Maduro. The attack was an escalation from a series of strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean. Maduro is currently being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center and is charged with drug trafficking and possession of illegal weapons.
Although President Donald Trump asserted that the United States would run Venezuela, Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in on Monday, Jan. 5 and is now the interim leader of the country.
Despite the alleged drug trafficking, many suspect that the main reason for the seizure of Venezuela’s president is oil. The majority of drugs illicitly entering the U.S. come from Mexico, but Venezuela contains the largest oil reserves in the world. According to CNN, Trump said that oil companies would be spending $100 billion to restore Venezuela’s energy sector. However, several major oil companies have expressed skepticism about the viability of investing in Venezuelan oil. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, Jan. 14, the United States began selling $500 million of Venezuelan oil with additional sales expected in the near future.
The invasion of Venezuela has splintered other nations and forced them to reconsider their stance on U.S. foreign policy. “We are in a position that’s very fragile, and it brings up a lot of questions about our role in the world,” said Cynthia Garcia-Macedonio, Upper School Spanish Teacher and 11th Grade Coordinator. “The fact that we are coming in there without any justification aside from a territorial goal… is very scary.”
The U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman issued a statement that they are concerned that the attack violated international law.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized Maduro’s unfree, undemocratic election but added, “[Spain] cannot recognise legitimacy of a military action that is clearly illegal, that violates international law and whose sole objective seems to be none other than to change the government of another country to seize its natural resources.”
Nevertheless, many U.S. allies are standing by the decision. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate President and we shed no tears about the end of his regime.”
The European Union echoed Starmer’s position, while calling for restraint and deescalation, in a press release: “The E.U. shares the priority of combating transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, which pose a significant security threat worldwide. At the same time, the E.U. stresses that these challenges must be addressed through sustained cooperation in full respect of international law and the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Junior Uriel Resendiz said, “It’s not directly affecting me, but there might be longer implications in terms of the U.S. and its relation to foreign territories.”
“It really is important for us to dive into what’s going on behind the headlines to develop a much deeper understanding,” shared Director of PolyGlobal Rick Caragher.”