Let's talk about Trump going bananas for Venezuela.... Belle of the Ranch

[TexasTowelie]

Well, howdy there internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump's going bananas for Venezuela.

Every so often something starts to feel familiar. Not because the details are the same, but because the logic is. History doesn't repeat, it rhymes. And the more Trump administration officials talk about Venezuela, the more the tune down south is getting more and more familiar. But we knew it would.

I did that deep dive into Trump's foreign policy document and the Monroe Doctrine over on the second channel. I said if it was going to be fully implemented, we'd see a repeat of the Banana Wars. The Banana Wars weren't a single conflict. They were a series of US military interventions across Central America and the Caribbean. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, countries like Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic found themselves hosting US Marines, sometimes for years at a time. The public justification was stability, protecting American lives, preventing chaos, occasionally preventing European influence. But it's foreign policy. It was about power, and money is power. American companies, especially fruit and shipping interests, needed predictable governments, favorable laws, and uninterrupted access to resources. When local politics threatened that predictability, intervention unfolded. What made the Banana Wars distinctive wasn't just force. It was unique because of the normalization of what General Smedley Butler saw as the protection racket. The general said, “I spent 33 years and four months in active military service. And during that period, I spent most of my time as a high-class muscleman for big business for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in,” he wasn't done recounting his adventures.

He went on, “I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1902 to 1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies. In 1903 in China in 1927, I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

These weren't declared wars. They were presented as management, as maintenance, as keeping things from getting worse. The US was the HOA with infantry, just keeping the neighborhood property values up.

Now, fast forward to today, and look at Venezuela. Venezuela sits on enormous oil and mineral reserves. It's strategically located. Its internal political crisis has dragged on for years and its instability creates ripple effects. Migration, regional tension, economic uncertainty. Once again, the language sounds familiar, protecting democracy, restoring stability, preventing outside influence, ensuring regional security. Those phrases aren't automatically wrong, but history tells us they're often incomplete because beneath them sits a quieter truth. Unstable countries with valuable resources tend to attract help that comes with conditions and arrives in rucks sacks. The administration has admitted Venezuela is about oil and minerals. It's the normalization of the protection racket again. It's the HOA saying somebody is behind on their dues. The Banana Wars didn't actually work out for anybody but the rich. We should probably keep that in mind.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.

[Be Leave On]

1. very good biography

Johnathan M. Katz wrote a very good biography of Gen Butler.
https://jonathanmkatz.com/gangsters