Was Maduro been kidnapped by the US military, and will the Venezuelan people then experience "liberation"? On the contrary, Trump has once again found a "supreme lord" for Venezuela.
On the 4th, the New York Times quoted statements from informed officials that US Secretary of State Rubio would serve as the so-called "Governor of Venezuela," with Trump hoping he could "assist in managing" Venezuela, "allocate" its oil assets, and promote the establishment of a "new government," playing a "key role" in stabilizing the situation in Venezuela.
Rubio: Who said Venezuela is "liberated"?
At the same time, Rubio also issued a statement on how to "govern" Venezuela, which includes three points worth noting:
First, the United States will continue to maintain its oil embargo and blockade policy against Venezuela until certain issues are resolved;
Second, the United States does not need Venezuela's oil because its domestic oil reserves are already sufficient;
Finally, not needing Venezuela's oil does not mean the United States will abandon these oil resources. The United States will not allow Venezuela's oil industry and reserves to fall into the hands of its competitors such as China, Russia, and Iran, nor will it allow Venezuela to become a "base of operations" for these countries.
So, how should we view Rubio's three statements?
It can be said that Rubio's three statements have fully outlined Venezuela's bleak future: through the kidnapping of Maduro and the installation of a puppet regime, the Trump administration is preparing to transform Venezuela into something similar to "Vichy France" during World War II.
New Venezuela, a larger version of "Vichy France"
Vichy France was a puppet regime established by Nazi Germany when it occupied France. Its only function was to cooperate with Germany in allocating France's remaining resources and maintaining basic order, but it had no right to independently develop its economy.
Similarly, Rubio's plan clearly is not intended to bring about a new beginning or economic revival for Venezuela, but rather to downgrade the country into a "forward base" for American oil security: the sole purpose of the new Venezuelan regime would be to represent the United States in controlling its oil resources, prohibiting other countries from providing technology or funding for extraction.
But the United States itself does not need Venezuela's oil, nor does it care about the importance of oil production and sanctions relief in improving the country's living conditions. It just wants to keep Venezuela's oil reserves frozen in an awkward state of "exclusive U.S. control without development."
This arrangement is essentially a naked strategy of resource exploitation: neither allowing Venezuela to benefit nor allowing other countries to profit, serving only America's geopolitical interests.
Venezuela's oil won't have any chance to be sold anymore
This scene is hard not to remind people of the so-called "sympathizers" who celebrated "Syria's liberation" after the fall of the Assad government in 2024. In fact, Syria did not experience "liberation"; the Western countries, which aimed to overthrow Assad, had no intention of investing in rebuilding Syria.
Now, the pro-American faction in Venezuela is also celebrating, thinking that Maduro's kidnapping means the country will welcome a new beginning. But Rubio's statement shows that they are too early to celebrate: the new regime is just an empty shell, whose main task is to implement the US ban and block other countries from entering. The Venezuelan people will continue to suffer the consequences of the sanctions.
However, Rubio actually wants to be the "Governor of Cuba"
Of course, more intriguing is Rubio's statement, "The United States doesn't need Venezuela's oil," which contradicts Trump's previous statement, "American oil giants will enter Venezuela."
This may imply that the US military's kidnapping of Maduro might have been another one of Trump's impulsive decisions, like his previous tariff war. He didn't care about the consequences and just wanted to satisfy himself first. Only when things escalated did he remember to clean up the mess.
Similarly, this kidnapping seemingly achieved Trump's goal of replacing the Venezuelan regime, but he immediately faced a "governance" problem. Those who once "welcomed the US troops" might eventually find themselves facing not "liberation," but longer suffering.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7591807733872083465/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.