The Venezuela Question
By Louis Perez y Cid
My friend Paco, a veteran of the 13th Legion, along with other former legionnaires from Maracaibo, Venezuela, are "outraged" by the US action in Caracas and are asking me what we think about it here in France.
My friend Paco, a veteran of the 13th Legion, along with other former legionnaires from Maracaibo, Venezuela, are "outraged" by the US action in Caracas and are asking me what we think about it here in France.
When the dollar becomes the central issue
Paco,
I received your message. I understand your anger, and that of the other Maracaibo veterans. From here, what's happening in Caracas isn't really surprising anymore, but it's still shocking. So I'm going to tell you frankly what many people think, without mincing words.
We're still being told that all of this is a matter of democracy, drug trafficking, and an authoritarian regime. That's the official line, the one that goes over well on television. But that's not where the real issue lies. Venezuela isn't being attacked for what it is, but for what it possesses and for what it dares to question.
For nearly fifty years, oil has spoken in dollars. It's an unwritten but sacred rule. Thanks to it, the United States built a financial and military power that no one could truly challenge. As long as oil was sold in dollars, the order held. And those who tried to deviate from it were brought back into line, violently.
Venezuela, with its immense reserves, crossed a red line. By diversifying its currencies, by forging closer ties with the BRICS, by engaging in discussions with China, Russia, and Iran, Caracas did what few states dare to do: touch the heart of the system. History has already shown us this, in Iraq and Libya. This kind of initiative never goes unpunished.
But the difference today is that the world has changed. The United States is no longer alone at the top. The dollar is faltering where it was once untouchable.
Militarily, technologically, economically, they are now being challenged. And at home, the country is weary, divided, and under constant tension.
So yes, the action against Venezuela isn't just a local matter. It's a strategic message: to prevent a country from definitively slipping out of the American orbit, to block the expansion of the BRICS, to slow the abandonment of the dollar and financial networks like SWIFT. In short, to defend a crumbling order.
The paradox is that this pressure could backfire. The more Washington strikes, the more it pushes other countries to seek alternatives. The more sanctions it imposes, the more it fuels mistrust. By trying to hold onto the world of yesterday, they risk hastening the collapse of tomorrow's. The unipolar order is coming to an end, Paco. The world is reorganizing itself around several poles, whether we like it or not. And stubbornly clinging to domination rather than adapting is often how empires begin to fall, not through lack of strength, but through blindness.
That's what we think here. Take care of yourself, and show respect to the elders there.
I received your message. I understand your anger, and that of the other Maracaibo veterans. From here, what's happening in Caracas isn't really surprising anymore, but it's still shocking. So I'm going to tell you frankly what many people think, without mincing words.
We're still being told that all of this is a matter of democracy, drug trafficking, and an authoritarian regime. That's the official line, the one that goes over well on television. But that's not where the real issue lies. Venezuela isn't being attacked for what it is, but for what it possesses and for what it dares to question.
For nearly fifty years, oil has spoken in dollars. It's an unwritten but sacred rule. Thanks to it, the United States built a financial and military power that no one could truly challenge. As long as oil was sold in dollars, the order held. And those who tried to deviate from it were brought back into line, violently.
Venezuela, with its immense reserves, crossed a red line. By diversifying its currencies, by forging closer ties with the BRICS, by engaging in discussions with China, Russia, and Iran, Caracas did what few states dare to do: touch the heart of the system. History has already shown us this, in Iraq and Libya. This kind of initiative never goes unpunished.
But the difference today is that the world has changed. The United States is no longer alone at the top. The dollar is faltering where it was once untouchable.
Militarily, technologically, economically, they are now being challenged. And at home, the country is weary, divided, and under constant tension.
So yes, the action against Venezuela isn't just a local matter. It's a strategic message: to prevent a country from definitively slipping out of the American orbit, to block the expansion of the BRICS, to slow the abandonment of the dollar and financial networks like SWIFT. In short, to defend a crumbling order.
The paradox is that this pressure could backfire. The more Washington strikes, the more it pushes other countries to seek alternatives. The more sanctions it imposes, the more it fuels mistrust. By trying to hold onto the world of yesterday, they risk hastening the collapse of tomorrow's. The unipolar order is coming to an end, Paco. The world is reorganizing itself around several poles, whether we like it or not. And stubbornly clinging to domination rather than adapting is often how empires begin to fall, not through lack of strength, but through blindness.
That's what we think here. Take care of yourself, and show respect to the elders there.