Veteran diplomat weighs the meaning of the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker

"Well, I think if you tie this into the recently released national security strategy, it essentially signals the world that in the Western Hemisphere, we are going to act - I'll put it diplomatically - with great independence, some might say - critics might use the word impunity - to promote ends to advance interests as we see them. And in this case, there's obviously an interest in bringing about a change in regime in Venezuela."

"Well, the oil that really matters is not the oil on the tanker. When you think about what might be motivating the United States in Venezuela, it doesn't seem to really be drugs. Venezuela is not a central player in the drug trade, certainly not the fentanyl trade. Already 8 million or so people have left Venezuela, but that flow is largely stopped. I think the biggest rationale for the United States promoting regime change is to get at Venezuelan oil reserves."

The U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela signals a willingness to act with notable independence in the Western Hemisphere to advance perceived national interests. The action functions as an incremental escalation intended to increase pressure on the Venezuelan government and promote regime change. The primary U.S. motivation appears tied to Venezuela's vast oil reserves rather than narcotics, since Venezuela is not a central player in the fentanyl trade. Large outflows of Venezuelan migrants have occurred, though migration flows have largely stopped. The oil reserves represent the chief strategic prize motivating U.S. policy in the region.

Read at www.npr.org