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Posted by Joshua Scheer
In a wide‑ranging interview, economist and author Jeffrey Sachs with Danny Haiphong offers a stark assessment of the U.S. military operation in Venezuela — including the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and reported airstrikes that killed dozens. Sachs characterizes the operation as “brazen, illegal, and extraordinarily dangerous,” arguing that it reflects a broader pattern of U.S. foreign policy unrestrained by constitutional or international law.
According to Sachs, the Trump administration has “unleashed” a long‑standing regime‑change agenda in Venezuela, one he says has roots stretching back more than two decades. He points to sanctions, economic warfare, and earlier coup attempts as part of a sustained effort to control Venezuela’s political direction and vast oil reserves.
Sachs also warns that the current moment is not isolated. He situates the Venezuela operation within a global landscape of escalating U.S. belligerency — from Iran to Syria to Ukraine — and argues that the erosion of international law increases the risk of wider conflict, even nuclear confrontation.
Sachs’ analysis paints a picture of a world entering a far more dangerous phase — one in which U.S. power is exercised with fewer restraints and greater disregard for international norms. Whether Venezuela becomes another prolonged conflict or the spark for something even larger, he argues, depends on whether the public and global institutions can reassert limits on war and intervention.
Below are several key points Sachs raises in the interview.
1. The Venezuela operation is “brazen, illegal, and unconstitutional.”
Sachs argues the kidnapping of Maduro and accompanying airstrikes violate both U.S. constitutional limits and international law, including the UN Charter.
2. The U.S. is operating in an “extra‑constitutional state.”
He describes a government increasingly driven by the military‑industrial complex, with diminished checks on executive power.
3. Regime change is a long‑term U.S. project in Venezuela.
Sachs traces efforts back to the 2002 coup attempt and says sanctions from 2017 onward were designed to collapse Venezuela’s economy.
4. Oil remains central to U.S. strategy.
He notes that Venezuela’s massive reserves — the largest in the world — have shaped U.S. policy for decades.
5. Trump’s foreign policy is marked by open aggression.
Sachs highlights Trump’s own statements about “running Venezuela” and consulting oil companies before military action.
6. Past regime‑change operations offer grim warnings.
He cites Iraq and Libya as examples of interventions that produced long‑term instability and violence.
7. The mainstream media failed to warn the public.
Sachs criticizes major outlets for offering little scrutiny before the operation and for echoing intelligence‑community narratives.
8. The risk of wider war is rising.
He argues that U.S. threats toward Iran, combined with global instability, create conditions for a much larger conflict.
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