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US Wants to Install ‘Functional Protectorate’ in Venezuela: Here Are Its Four Components

Sputnik – 05.01.2026

With Maduro out, Washington is looking to establish “four kinds of control” in Venezuela. Independent Peru-based geopolitical and economic analyst Nicolas Takayama Constantini outlines the mechanics of these measures for Sputnik.

“Operationally, it means that they will have a de facto tutelary administration,” Constantini explained. This would mean:

  1. “indirect political control” via a “provisional authority” or “transition council” approved by Washington, not the Venezuelan people
  2. technical and financial control over the oil sector, including contracts, ports and foreign currency flows
  3. direct control over oil revenues, either by the US Treasury, “or some entity controlled by the US”
  4. some form of US military or security presence, not necessarily a large one.

“So, in fact this wouldn’t be classical governance, but rather a form of functional protectorate, similar to Iraq in 2003,” the observer said.

Goal of US Operation: Seizure of Resources or Message to Rivals

“From a rational economic point of view, military intervention is not efficient. The military, political and reputational cost for the US far exceeds any potential energy gains. But it’s not only the resources,” even in Venezuela’s case (oil, gas, rare earths, tech metals, gold), Constantini said.

It’s about sending a message to Washington’s geopolitical rivals, including China, Russia and Iran, about preventing Venezuela’s resources from falling into their hands, and letting regional countries know: “if you don’t submit or make your resources available to me when I need, this will happen to you.”

“Just to have a note here, obviously the US doesn’t care about the Venezuelan interest or even the American citizens’ interest related to drug traffickers because the agencies in the US say that the main flow of drugs doesn’t come from Venezuela,” the expert added.

Venezuela Attack Signals Final Breakup of Post-WWII Order

“It’s an extremely serious precedent for the international order. It means that state sovereignty doesn’t work anymore. The head of state immunity doesn’t work anymore. It normalizes regime change by force without multilateral authorization. It reinforces the idea that power supersedes international law,” Constantini explained.

“It marks the end of what remained of international law and the international order after the Second World War… a greater militarization of foreign policy and acceleration of the global order’s fragmentation into competing blocs. This implies that other powers can do the same if they don’t consider a particular government legitimate,” the observer summed up.

January 5, 2026 - Posted by | Economics | , ,

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