U.S. aggression on Venezuela is about more than narco smugglers

The country’s oil reserves are the world’s largest

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An offshore rig, part of the Cardon IV project, in Venezuela. The field is a joint venture between Repsol and Eni. Photo: Repsol.

As the Trump administration moves closer to a full-scale assault on Venezuela this week, the search for motives was in full swing.

Is it really to stop so-called narco-terrorists? Is it President Donald Trump‘s Grenada, an attempt to show power and perhaps divert attention from his low polls and myriad scandals? Is it a genuine effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro and replace 25 years of dictators hostile to the U.S. with a friendlier, more democratic government?

Or, as the more cynical among us might conclude, is it simply a grandiose oil play?