@ocampomar.bsky.social
Political scientist and researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies. Old school leftist. Economic justice and freedom, peace and prosperity, democracy and equality, solidarity and class struggle.
#EleccionesColombia2026
#EleccionesCongreso
Trump theoretically had some leeway in his illegal & criminal war with Iran bc there was a glut in the global oil market.
That is being wiped out faster than expected, prices are spiking, & working-class households will be put under more financial stress.
Renewable energy is a must.
NEW: The military systems that the U.S. sent to the Iran region in recent weeks ALONE cost us nearly $60 MILLION per day — just a fraction of the cost of this war.
That ~$60 million could cover Medicaid for 4 million Americans per day, or SNAP for 9.5 million.
From @nationalpriorities.bsky.social:
The West’s "age of dominance” that Rubio spoke of in Munich trafficked drugs into China; instituted regimes of apartheid; committed multiple genocides; engineered a transfer of wealth from colonies to the North; & turned Europe into rubble (world wars).
It is a system that has killed 100M+ people.
There is the Miami Coalition to End the Blockade.
The Washington Post dies in a billionaire oligarch's darkness.
An opportunity to improve relations.
They'll agree on bilateral issues but disagree on regional security - the US wants to dominate LatAm & Petro wants to protect sovereignty.
Petro needs to avoid a "Zelensky scenario" bc Trump will intervene in COL's elections à la HND & ARG if it goes poorly.
This is the fundamental problem with shareholder capitalism: wealth expansion occurs primarily by inflating the price of assets as opposed to savings and investment. And by denying workers their rightful share of the income and wealth they help generate.
Exhibit A of why the private market will never solve the housing affordability crisis: homeowners have an interest in keeping the value of their asset (residential real estate) high and want politicians to pursue policies that will continue to appreciate the price of their asset.
Trump's desire in annexing Greenland has a lot to do with the development of new maritime shipping routes that will open up thanks to the progressive retreat of Arctic ice sheets.
It'll shorten international trade routes & Trump wants to ensure foreign shipping has access to the Northwest Passage.
It is recreational sadism. #AbolishICE
Maria Corina Machado speaking at the Heritage Foundation is not surprising when you consider that she contributed to the stigmatization of the Vzlan diaspora in the US.
She gave legitimacy to Trump's assertion that undocumented Vzlan immigrants were Tren de Aragua or criminals sent by Maduro.
U.S. billionaires made record-breaking extreme wealth gains last year. But "Average taxpayers like you and I," says IPS @inequality.org researcher @ocampomar.bsky.social in @truthout.org, "still pay income tax at triple the rate of the wealthiest Americans."
NEW: No, it was never really about drugs. Yes, it was about oil — but it wasn't *only* about oil. And no, it wasn't even close to being legal.
In a new explainer out today, IPS scholars clear up the biggest questions about the U.S. attack on Venezuela:
While oil is one factor in the decision to carry out military operations against Venezuela, the Trump administration’s real agenda is even more troubling — an attempt to exercise complete political control over Latin America.
@ocampomar.bsky.social on Foreign Policy in Focus:
NEW: Yes, oil is a factor in Trump's attack on Venezuela. But it's not the primary one, argues IPS scholar @ocampomar.bsky.social.
The core motivation is "to exert complete political control — and economic domination — over Latin America. It’s classic U.S. imperialism."
In FPIF, I argue that Vzlan oil was a secondary motivation. The main motive is to oust China from having access to strategic assets in LatAm & Trump is not afraid to use the War on Drugs as a pretext.
Vzla is a test lab to see how the world reacts to US interference.
fpif.org/venezuela-an...
“It’s not just that US billionaires are entering 2026 with record-breaking increases in wealth: it’s that they are also paying far less in taxes compared to the huge amount of wealth they amass."
My quote in this article by @ohiocapitaljournal.com
Bicycle socialism.
NEW: Not only is there "certainly no fentanyl involved" between Venezuela and the U.S., but the region's most prolific drug traffickers have often in fact been U.S. allies.
In a new BBC interview, IPS drug policy scholar @sanho.bsky.social dismantles Trump admin claims. Watch:
And just like that, Trump’s imaginary “narcoterrorist cartel” vanishes. I talked about it in my BBC interview last night.
We should also reject the framing of this as operation as a "success," especially since the US has already declared that they are going to indefinitely "run" -i.e., occupy- the country. How can it be a "success" when this is not even remotely over yet?
US intervention must be rejected on principle. It sets a dangerous precedent for LaAm: it is a violation of international law & state sovereignty. The US can accuse any head of state of being a drug dealer & then will launch a regime change mission, unless, of course, you are in Rubio's good graces.
Is Delcy going to cooperate with US occupation forces? Idk. Initial reports said "yes," but she's saying "no." Is this a sincere act of resistance or is she trying to save face? Reports suggest Trump will tolerate hostile rhetoric as long as she does what they want, otherwise they'll escalate.
Events are fluid & we don't know exactly what's going on.
Was a deal negotiated? Looks like it. Trump didn't think Machado could assert control over the country or military, which is unsurprising considering she jeopardized their lives by asking the US to bomb her country.
The Trump admin's commitment to the War on Drugs is dubious at best.
Daniel Noboa's family business was caught trafficking 700 kilos of cocaine yet Rubio considers him as a strong partner against the drug trade. JOH was pardoned.
There is no real principled commitment to stop drug trafficking.
The primary motivation is anti-leftism.
Trump has already threatened Colombia & Mexico with military action using so-called "narcoterrorism" as a pretext.
NYT investigated Petro & found no link between him & the illegal drug trade yet Trump insists that Petro is "making cocaine."
Drug trafficking was always a BS pretext, but oil is a secondary motivation.
Trump appealed to extractive imperialism to sell the intervention.
Maduro's removal always implied oil sector development bc it's Vzla's cash cow, but US oil companies are now guaranteed to get profitable oil concessions.
Trump announces an illegal and indefinite US military occupation of Venezuela.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...
I think Latin American leaders are privately happy that Maduro is gone but furious at how it was carried out. It establishes a bad precedent that allows the US to violate international law & intervene in a country after it accuses its head of state (democrat or not) of being a drug trafficker.