US aggression against Venezuela reveals criminal nature of imperialism: Scholar

A top American commander has said that the US Navy is “ready” to act in favor of Washington’s interests in Venezuela.

US Southern Command chief Admiral Craig Faller made the claims Monday in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the United States kicked off its annual UNITAS maritime exercise.

"I won't speak to details of what we're planning and what we're doing, but we remain ready to implement policy decisions and we remain on the balls of our feet," Faller told reporters.

Commenting to Press TV Professor Etler said, “The naked aggression of the US against the sovereign state of Venezuela is a stark reminder of the criminal nature of US imperialism. US threats against Venezuela go counter to the charter of the UN which expressly states under Article 1 that its purposes are:

1. To maintain international peace and security

2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples

3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and

4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.”

“Nowhere is it mentioned that any nation has the right to impose unilateral sanctions, embargoes or quarantines against any other nation based on its own interpretation of what is in another country’s best interests. In fact, the US is concerned only with serving its own self-interest not those of the Venezuelan people, who are already suffering under the yoke of illegal US sanctions,” he added.

“The US in threatening Venezuela has only one intent in mind, to intimidate the rest of the world with its willingness to engage in unvarnished gunboat diplomacy. The US is announcing that it will go to any lengths to impose its will on any nation that stands up to its bullying. All it has done, however, is expose for all to see its vicious imperial ambitions and disrespect for any international standards. The US is a rogue nation careening out of control and is the major threat to world peace and stability,” the analyst noted.

The chief of US military’s Southern Command has also unveiled that Washington’s military establishment is focusing on preparations for what he referred to as “the day after” the downfall of Venezuela’s “isolated” President Nicolas Maduro amid the Trump administration’s persisting of regime change policy in the Central American nation.

Insisting on the importance of maintaining “continuous pressure” on what he described as the “illegitimate regime” in Caracas, Faller further warned on Monday against Venezuela’s “formidable weapon system” while also slamming Russia, Cuba and China for backing Maduro’s government in face of surging US-led measures to force its overthrow.

President Maduro had vowed during a rally in Caracas a week earlier that his nation was ready to resist and “defeat” Washington’s “imperialist blockade” against Venezuela.

Washington has repeatedly demanded that Moscow withdraw its support for Maduro. Russia has rejected the request, insisting that the US is attempting to instigate a coup against the Venezuelan president in defiance of international law.

The US threatened Russia with new sanctions last month over its support for Maduro. The White House’s point man for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said the new sanctions against Moscow would be announced on July 25.