California Rep.
Ro Khanna has launched a broadside against President Donald Trumps new oil agreement with Venezuela, likening the deal to a revival of colonial-era power politics.
According to Gateway Pundit, Khannas criticism followed President Trumps announcement that the United States had secured an agreement granting control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves, a move the White House argues will strengthen American energy independence and ease pressure on working families. President Trump hailed the accord on Truth Social, declaring, This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity.
Speaking with MSNBCs Chris Hayes, Khanna charged that Trump is resurrecting a colonial model in U.S. foreign policy, casting a deal that could benefit American consumers as a moral failure. He elaborated, [It is] sad to see. Its like weve rolled back the clock 100 years. Yeah, the era of gunboat diplomacy and, you know, the history. So what we did in Guatemala, what we did in El Salvador, what we did in Haiti, but its wrong. Its wrong to have a colonial model of the world. I mean, my grandfather was in jail twice fighting for British independence.
Khanna invoked mid-20th-century history to frame his critique, insisting, It was FDR who pushed Churchill to decolonize. And I thought America, had stood for decolonization. Trump is rolling it all back because he simply believes in a world where might makes right, where you take what you can. He further argued, We need to oppose it on moral grounds. Its not just that its strategically wrong. Its morally wrong. Its not what America should be, given our principles.
The California Democrat has a record of siding with left-wing narratives on Venezuela, having previously condemned the January arrest of narcoterrorist and former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve. My concern is the moralitywhat is happening in Venezuela is not just procedurally wrong but morally wrong, he said at the time, a stance that contrasts sharply with conservatives who view Maduros removal and expanded U.S. access to energy resources as both strategically sound and beneficial to American sovereignty and prosperity.
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