An American political commentator says the “United States claims to be a defender of free trade but it is the number one enemy of free trade in the world today.”
Bill Dores, a writer for Struggle/La Lucha and longtime antiwar activist, made the comments in an interview with Press TV on Tuesday while commenting on US threats to Iran and Venezuela over their mutual trade.
Venezuela’s president has defended his country’s right to free trade with Iran despite coercive efforts by the United States that has brought both nations under illegal and unilateral sanctions, saying neither Caracas nor Tehran will ever knuckle under Washington’s pressure.
“Venezuela and Iran both want peace, and we have the right to trade freely,” Nicolas Maduro said in a state television address on Sunday.
Maduro referred to the two countries as “revolutionary peoples, who will never kneel down before the North American empire.”
Dores said, “It's a great thing that Iran which is also under sanctions has done for the people of Venezuela, and the world.”
“Cruel US sanctions have killed many thousands in Venezuela and Iran. How criminal is it that a country like Venezuela with huge oil reserves must import fuel, because US sanctions make it unable to operate its own refineries?” he asked.
“The United States claims to be a defender of free trade but it is the number one enemy of free trade in the world today,” the analyst noted.
“It's important to understand that Washington's wars and sanctions against oil-producing countries are not to get oil. They are wars for monopoly, for profit, to restrict supply and to keep the profits of the global energy trade in the hands of US banks and corporations,” he said.
“Like when Shah was in power in Iran, he turned the country’s oil revenues over to the United States, over to US corporations and banks. The US ruling class hates Iran because that's no longer true, because now Venezuela and Iran use the revenues of their oil for their own benefit, not to enrich ExxonMobil or JPMorgan Chase,” he said.
“Millions have died in the past 30 years as the US tries to desperately restore its global monopoly. That has also has also hurt people in the United States,” he said.
“After the Iraq war drove up prices, people here had to choose between heating and eating. Venezuela sent oil to help working class people here, poor communities in the United States, in the Bronx, in Appalachia, in Native communities. ,” he added.
“So, I stand, we stand, all the decent people in the United States stand with the people of Iran and Venezuela. It's not in our interest to have these wars and sanctions that are being used as a wrecking ball against the world economy for the benefit of the 1% in this country,” he said.
“And so we demand an end to the sanctions on Venezuela, an end to sanctions on Iran and every other country, and say bring all US ships and troops and planes home,” he said
