What would Donald Trump have to do for the U.S. media to frame what he is doing in Venezuela as an act of war?
This isn’t a rhetorical question. It’s an actual inquiry, the pursuit of which can reveal a lot about how U.S. media’s default posture is state subservience and stenography. In the past few months, President Trump has committed several clear acts of war against Venezuela, including: murdering — in cold blood — scores of its citizens, hijacking its ships, stealing its resources, issuing a naval blockade, and attacking its ports.
Then in a stunning escalation on early Saturday morning, the administration invaded Venezuela’s sovereign territory, bombing several buildings, killing at least 40 more of its citizens, kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their bed, and announcing they will, henceforth, “run” the country.
And yet none of these acts of brazen aggression, violence, and violations of international law have, in any sustained or meaningful way, been referred to as acts of war, a coup, or invasion in U.S. mainstream media reporting.
It’s a reflection of the lack of working class power in the imperial core. In the past, the capitalist class felt it had to manufacture consent with a sense of democratic rule (it was as false then as it is now).
The lack of any class consciousness has allowed our ruling class to stop using resources to maintain the charade. Why not spend less effort and just declare that we are an Imperialist nation that seeks to exploit the world’s poor? Hell, it might even make stupid right wing reactionaries feel “strong”, as they struggle to pay rent, as long as they get a hard-on for our military.
This invasion is not different from the past Imperialist history of America. The only difference is how plainly they are admitting to it.