Ro Khanna Slams Trump Plan to Seize Venezuelan Oil
California Democrat Ro Khanna condemned Trump's deal for U.S. control of Venezuelan oil reserves as colonial-era policy, comparing it to past interventions in Latin America.
Speaking on MSNBC’s “All In” on Friday, according to Breitbart News, Khanna responded to host Chris Hayes‘ characterization of the arrangement, which grants the United States control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil.
Hayes framed the issue in stark terms, referencing the removal of Venezuela’s president and suggesting the U.S. had effectively seized the nation’s oil resources. He questioned whether Americans still possess what he termed an anti-imperial civic understanding that would recognize such actions as fundamentally wrong.
The California representative drew historical parallels to past U.S. interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean. He cited American actions in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Haiti as examples of what he characterized as gunboat diplomacy.
Colonial Model Comparison
Khanna invoked his own family history to reinforce his position, noting that his grandfather had been imprisoned twice while fighting for Indian independence from British rule. He pointed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s pressure on Winston Churchill to pursue decolonization as evidence of America’s historical opposition to colonial systems.
It’s like we’ve rolled back the clock 100 years, Khanna stated, lamenting what he sees as a reversal of American principles.
The congressman argued that the current administration operates under a philosophy where military and economic power justifies territorial and resource seizures. He insisted that opposition to such policies must rest on moral foundations, not merely strategic considerations.
Khanna concluded by asserting that the Venezuelan oil agreement contradicts core American values and represents a departure from the nation’s stated principles on the world stage.
With information from Breitbart News
