The United States' abduction of Venezuelan President Maduro in an operation is imperialist banditry. (The fact that a head of state could be captured so easily is a grave situation that deserves further attention.)

As I emphasised in my broadcast on my YouTube channel hours after the incident, there are three main reasons for this attack: The White House is 1) uncomfortable with the nationalist-leftist Chavez programme that drove out US imperialist companies and its impact on South America, 2) wants to plunder Venezuela's raw material resources, 3) It aims to implement a new Monroe Doctrine in South America against China.

This is because Trump's "America First" doctrine means, in practice, "the interests of US companies first, then others." The Trump administration is also a coordinating body for the interests of the "United States of Companies."

The petrodollar system problem

Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves. Its natural gas reserves are also extraordinary. Furthermore, Venezuela is a country rich in many minerals, especially gold reserves. (The US has been preventing the production and sale of these resources for 25 years so that the Venezuelan economy weakens and the Chavez programme loses popular support!)

When the nationalist-leftist Chávez came to power in 2001, he expelled US companies and nationalised oil. This is why Trump has been saying for months, referring to the expelled companies, that "actually, Venezuela's oil is ours". 

Of course, the US has not had a direct need for oil for some time; it produces and sells its own. But as stated in the new National Security Strategy document, they are 1) seeking to prevent oil from falling into the hands of powers they consider enemies, 2) wanting to control oil sales for the "petrodollar system," and 3) aiming to maintain control over energy transport routes.

This is so obvious that many American politicians, foremost among them former US Vice President Kamala Harris, have commented that this is "not about democracy or the fight against drugs, but about the pursuit of oil and power."

Indeed, after the attack on Venezuela, Trump said in a statement, "We will bring America's big oil companies into Venezuela."

A tactical move in strategic decline

The US is provoking Israel to attack in the Middle East, has directly struck Iran, wants Greenland, is pursuing Panama, aims to make Canada its 52nd state, and has entered the South Caucasus via the Trump Corridor...

This naturally raises the question: Wasn't US hegemony weakening, wasn't a multipolar world being built?

Yes, there is no change here, US hegemony is weakening and a multipolar world is being built. In the last century, the "order-establishing US" accounted for almost half of world production, now it has fallen to 15 per cent. The dollar's share as a reserve currency has fallen below 60%. The use of national currencies in bilateral trade is gradually increasing. Alternatives to the US financial system are emerging. The US has been overtaken in the most important areas of technology.

This is precisely why the US is aggressive.

Imperialist America is making tactical moves in its strategic decline, seeking to slow down the decline and protect what remains of its crumbling order. While still possessing the world's most powerful army, it is trying to hold its ground based on this. This is why the latest National Security Strategy document essentially says, "The Western hemisphere is mine, and I will fight for the rest." And yes, renaming the Department of Defence as the Department of War is also part of this.

Chavez's observation

Let me conclude with a quote from the introduction to my book The End of American Hegemony (Kırmızı Kedi, 2019): "Throughout history, no state has been more terrorist than the US Empire. The Yankee Empire will collapse, and this collapse will occur within this century."

The author of this quote was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. When Chavez made this observation in 2009, he pointed to the two faces of imperialism. The imperialist United States was both a terrorist state and in decline. 

Yes, the collapse of the superpowers that established the world order takes a long time, but it will happen sooner or later. The US is no longer a superpower; it is actually trying to remain the larger of two great powers. 

This is the strategic reality; what happens on the tactical level is unlikely to change this.