The Imperialism of 'Maximum Pressure' in Venezuela

Pompeo wanted the U.S. to topple a foreign government because he disapproved of their foreign policy choices.

Mike Pompeo is an old-school imperialist by his own admission:

Nathan J Robinson @NathanJRobinson

Mike Pompeo's new memoir acknowledges openly that the U.S. attempted to force regime change in Venezuela because it "violated the Monroe Doctrine" (i.e. we own Latin America), and even considered "the military option."

It’s a good thing that Americans don’t believe in spheres of influence, isn’t it?

As amusing as Pompeo’s ignorance of the Monroe Doctrine may be, the most revealing line here is his claim that “we couldn’t tolerate a nation just 1,400 miles from Florida putting out the welcome mat” for those other states. Venezuela is ruled by a ramshackle dictatorship, it was already in no position to threaten anyone long before Trump and Pompeo came on the scene, and it is on another continent. Despite the obvious lack of any real threat to the United States, Pompeo declares that Washington couldn’t “tolerate” a small country having good relations with other countries that Washington doesn’t like. This is not just imperialism, but the crudest, most irrational sort of imperialism based on the most ridiculous threat inflation.