Venezuelan Oil Lubricates Trump’s Project 2025 Monroe Doctrine

WASHINGTON (01-06) – For the past ten months, activists have held weekly protests outside the conservative extremist right-wing think-tank, the Heritage Foundation headquarters, aiming to call attention to its authorship of “Project 2025” which is the governing policy playbook guiding all matters for the Trump regime.

On July 4, 2024, then-presidential candidate Trump claimed that he didn’t “know anything about” Project 2025 that espouses its guidelines as “a plan for the next GOP administration.” In reference to it, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had “no idea who is behind it,” saying that “some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” Yet, after his inauguration he was converted as “Project 2025-Mandate for Leadership, the Conservative Promise,” is the very playbook which he has acted upon as a blueprint for his actions thus far during his second term.

The document itself regarding regional foreign policy is a manifestation of the Monroe Doctrine, the 19th century US foreign policy principal that addresses “any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers as a potentially hostile act against the United States.” In other words, all foreign powers must apply an international NIMBY principal and stay out of the politics and foreign affairs in our backyard. Not unlike both Putin and Xi Jinping who are busy carving up the world into separate hemispheres of influence and possession, Trump is effectively creating a new world order of his own vision in the Americas.

One warning noted in the Project 2025 document is what it refers to as the “World on fire,” a review of nations, a handful of which, “…require heightened attention. Some represent existential threats to the safety and security of the American people; others threaten to hurt the U.S. economy. The five countries on which the next Administration should focus its attention and energy are China, Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and North Korea.”

This, while a dire warning on Mexico claims the country is “currently a national security disaster. Bluntly stated, Mexico can no longer qualify as a first-world nation; it has functionally lost its sovereignty to muscular criminal cartels that effectively run the country. The current dynamic is not good for either U.S. citizens or Mexicans, and the perfect storm created by this cartel state has negative effects that are damaging the entire hemisphere. The next Administration must both adopt a posture that calls for a fully sovereign Mexico and take all steps at its disposal to support that result in as rapid a fashion as possible.”

Added to this mix are Guyana and Ecuador, that are perceived as “…increasingly regional security threats in their own rights or are vulnerable to hostile extra-continental powers. The U.S. has an opportunity to lead these democratic neighbors to fight against the external pressure of threats from abroad and address local regional security concerns.” Regarding Columbia, Trump claims that President Gustavo Petro is involved in drug trafficking and the country is “very sick, run by a sick man,” suggesting the U.S. could intervene militarily there as it has in Venezuela.

Greenland has once again gained Trump’s attention due to his claim that it is “surrounded by both Russian and Chinese ships,” an assertion that has been flatly debunked. This verbal assault is another attempt to build support for possible U.S. intervention, in this case that of a NATO ally.

While the Trump administration is actively disassembling democracy here in the U.S., Project 2025 comically warns that “Venezuela serves as a reminder of just how fragile democratic institutions that are not maintained can be.” A warning that it fails to recognize the very blueprint it is designed around.

The word Democracy in all the spin statements, talk show interviews and press briefings since the invasion of Venezuela have concentrated on oil more than democracy with no pretext whatsoever that U.S. aggression is about the resurrection of the oil industry in Venezuela solely for the benefit of American oil companies. This includes Trump’s pronouncement that “We’re going to keep the oil.”

In a show of solidarity for the 32 Cuban nationals killed in the invasion of Venezuela, an early evening candlelight vigil by anti-war activists was held outside the Cuban Embassy. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, and a small group of activists met with Ambassador Alejandro Pila Alonso to express their condolences for the lives lost, and to condemn the military invasion and kidnapping of President Maduro.

After exiting the embassy, several people addressed those gathered regarding their personal feelings before observing a moment of silence for all the lives lost in the invasion. Leo, a Venezuelan American, spoke of his shock and anger that the U.S. is waging yet another war for oil “so very nakedly” without any pretext. He said that “the drug thing is not even a pretext anymore as Trump is not even talking about it anymore.” He added how moved he was and saddened to learn of the deaths of Cubans who were “defending my country” and that he had expressed his solidarity with the Cuban ambassador, telling him “We stand with them forever, they are no alone in Cuba. There not alone here, and there are many of us who strongly disagree with what this government is doing in our name, and we will keep struggling and educating people to change all this.”

Andy Shallal, owner of the progressive café and bookstore Busboys and Poets, spoke as an Iraqi saying how the invasion was “déjà vu all over again” lacking the pretext of WMDs that have been substituted for “narco-trafficking” and that like Iraq the invasion is simply “all about the oil.” He urged people to fight against the naked U.S. aggression so as not to “make it so easy” for future aggressions.

“Not one American soldier being killed in this operation makes people less interested,” he continued. “… we have to tell the truth; we have to constantly be bringing out the truth and cut through the headlines thru this thriller heist they are trying to promote to make it look so simple and so easy and straight forward it is not it’s a lie and we keep being fed lies. We need to continue to fight the lies, it’s a lot of work and it has to be done.”

Medea Benjamin called for engagement and education by everyone present regarding U.S. aggression, noting that “for the first time since the Vietnam war I have not seen such a huge public opinion poll showing that people are against U.S. involvement in overseas wars. We have a tremendous crisis in our country, especially with people being kicked off healthcare because they can’t afford it and yet we can spend billions of dollars on illegal reckless, horrific intervention.” She urged everyone to resist with their full might to hasten an end to Trump’s wars. Going further she urged that people call their elected representatives to express their outrage and demand that they rise up to end this illegal war and further aggression.

Afterward the group departed for a walk to Busboys and Poets for an emergency community gathering and conversation where several Venezuelans spoke firsthand on what is happening in their country and how people are responding and what may now come of this illegal and unprecedented invasion.

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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