No one will ever accuse these clowns of subtlety, that's for sure

[Prairie Gates]

I do think it's actually deliberate: they produce a fig leaf so transparent and tiny that you're supposed to understand it is pure pretext, the better to demonstrate their domination. Obviously Trump and the US oligarchs don't give a damn about Christians in Nigeria or supposed drug production in Venezuela, but you're supposed to understand that this is all wink wink. They're gangsters. They don't need an excuse, which seems to be the point.