Interview to Sputnik Türkiye.
Interview to Sputnik Türkiye.
UWI author Yunus Soner provided an interview to Sputnik Türkiye on the recent US threats against and the reaction in Venezuela. Below we present the interview as published by Sputnik Türkiye here.
Latin America is on the verge of a geopolitical tremor on a scale not seen in many years. The US’s increasing military and political pressure on Venezuela has created a domino effect not only in Venezuela but also in the security equation of the entire region. While the Venezuelan administration declared a comprehensive mobilization against a possible intervention, on the other hand, Washington’s intervention capacity in the region has been brought into question in a wide area stretching from Colombia to Mexico, Ecuador to Brazil.
While the anti-imperialist sentiment that has been building up for a long time is resurfacing in the countries of the region, the reaction to the US’s ‘backyard’ approach is growing stronger at both the political and social levels. Another striking element in this process is the political and military tensions within the US. While Washington’s Latin America policy is generating domestic debate, the departure of some high-ranking military personnel reinforces assessments that the US military is also affected by this crisis. The emerging picture is not only one of tension between Venezuela and the US; it points to a broader transformation in which regional power balances are being reshaped.
Yunus Soner, the Türkiye correspondent of TeleSUR, the Joint State Television of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, and a South America expert, was the guest on the program “Ankara Difference with İsmet Özçelik” broadcast on Radyo Sputnik.
Assessing the US-Venezuela tensions on the program, Soner said: “Venezuela is preparing for the worst-case scenario.” According to the expert, Venezuela is in a state of full mobilization against any possible attack from the US.
Soner stated that the army follows a Cuba-like concept of popular defense thanks to its integrated structure with the people and the Bolivarian ideological resilience. He noted that the possibility of a ground operation is considered low, but that the country is preparing for the worst-case scenario.
“Bolivar’s sword is a symbol of the anti-colonial war”
Stating that the sword used by Bolivar in wars is one of the strongest symbols of the anti-colonial struggle in Latin America today, Soner said, “Bolivar’s sword; if I’m not mistaken, it is a sword that Bolivar used in war in Peru during his time, and today it is preserved as a symbol of the anti-colonial war. I saw those swords in the special museum section of the General Staff. When Trump was newly elected, his special representative, Richard Grenell, was there. Grenell contacted Maduro, visited Caracas, and Maduro showed those swords to Richard Grenell. It is a very symbolic and clear message. These swords have a great meaning; Bolivar is the greatest leader for the entire continent.”
“All of South America is uniting against the US”
Stating that an expanding anti-American unity has been formed in South America, Soner said, Soner, noting that the Colombia-Venezuela rapprochement has become key to the region, said that many countries, including Mexico and Ecuador, have taken a united stance against Washington’s threats of intervention: “Venezuela is the leader of the rebellion against the backyard concept.” According to Soner, Venezuela is the regional leader of the resistance against the US’s discourse of “backyard”. Emphasizing that Venezuela has not rejected oil sales but opposes the US model of controlling resources “at no cost,” Soner emphasized that Venezuela is being specifically targeted due to its scale and political assertiveness: “American soldiers are resigning.” According to Soner, who emphasized that despite the pressure on Venezuela, not a single Venezuelan officer has resigned, while the commander of the US forces in South America has effectively resigned by requesting retirement before the end of his term, this situation demonstrates the fragility in the US in terms of regime stability rather than the balance of military power, and that the Trump administration is experiencing a serious internal turmoil.
“Compare the armies of the two countries, there is no doubt that the US has the bigger army, the weapons. But whose generals are resigning? There has been serious pressure on Venezuela for weeks. Western media outlets are openly saying that they have called on Venezuelan generals to revolt against him and overthrow him. Forget generals, is there a single Venezuelan major who has resigned? I don’t know, but opposite to him there is the commander of the American army in charge of South America, who resigned. He had three more years in office, but he asked for his retirement at the end of the year, so he resigned. This is a very striking event. Maybe it doesn’t change the military balance in this war, but when you look at it from the point of view of regime stability, when you ask, “Does the Trump regime have a future, does the Maduro regime have a future?” Trump is in serious shocks. His own soldiers are resigning, his own senate is revolting, a significant number of his own Republican senators are against intervention in Venezuela. So, the US military is boiling inside.”